Testing on real watches

Former Member over 9 years ago

Hello,

I have developped an application for the Garmin Forerunner 235, to control the heart rate value. I made this app for my father and tested on the watch we gave him for Christmas: https://apps.garmin.com/fr-FR/apps/c14851dd-00cb-43c8-921d-6d1e5888eea0

During development, I had some trouble making the application work on the watch, when everything on simulator was fine. For example, I never succeeded to link the real app with the Android companion app I was developping, whereas the link between the simulator and Android was fine. In the forum I was told the bug was known but hard to identify and to correct. (https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?315054-No-callback-from-getApplicationInfo)

Now that I do not have the watch anymore, I cannot improve my app as I cannot test on a real watch. I have another watch for my activities that is fine for me, so I do not plan to invest in a Garmin watch.

My question is:
Is there a program to lend watches, via partner shops maybe, or some other way to help developpers to test on different model of watches? Or is there a way to find other developpers around with the watch?

Thank you

Former Member over 9 years ago

There are enough guys here with different devices that we can test for you (I personally own a fr920xt, fr630, and edge_1000). Just provide a .prg file compiled for the device, and possibly a settings file.

That is simply not good. First of all, I'm creating companion apps which will not be free. Why would someone test them freely for me?

Second, suppose a user sends a complaint about a problem he's experiencing with my app, how do I debug? Should I press on the volunteers to quickly test that scenario and give me feedback asap?

So, that suggestion is simply not ok, at least not for serious apps and developers.

On the issue how will Garmin know who is a developer and who isn't - that's fairly simple. A developer can provide an app he/she has developed. Even if more devices are given away than the actual number of productive developers, I think Garmin will benefit, because it will attract more developers, which should result in more and better apps.

jim_m_58 over 9 years ago

That is simply not good. First of all, I'm creating companion apps which will not be free. Why would someone test them freely for me?

Actually, Travis has done testing like this for me, and I've done testing like this for Hermo. No companion app involved though, but just tests on things like how the display or buttons work, or with Sys.println() to collect debug info to send back. I've done similar things with users that report problems, when I give them a version with debug info turned on, and tell them how to enable the log and send me back the file.

Maybe for your app, you make a deal where you'll provide the companion app for free to testers?

If you're charging for a companion app, would that help pay for a 2nd hand version of a device?

Former Member over 9 years ago

If you're charging for a companion app, would that help pay for a 2nd hand version of a device?

I think so, yes. I ordered a new device, because I need to test the apps on an actual device before publishing them, the simulator is not just 100% accurate. I already have some apps developed for other devices and I'm adapting them for the Garmin, but if I were starting from scratch, I don't think I would have bought a new device, just for app development. That is my point, the availability of the device can boost developer motivation. I'm speaking from experience. For example, Sony has a program of providing developers with devices, even prior to putting the device on sale, and that helps a lot, when the device is released there is immediately a good selection of quality apps for it. At what cost for Sony? I'd say they get it for free.

jim_m_58 over 9 years ago

I think so, yes. I ordered a new device, because I need to test the apps on an actual device before publishing them, the simulator is not just 100% accurate.

The simulator is not an emulator, and there will be differences, but over the last year, the simulator has gotten much better.

There are also things you simply won't see in the simulator, like the timeout for widgets for example. It's always good to test (sideload) on at least one real watch, and over time, you'll pick up on minor differences between the various devices (for example, how long the timeout for widgets is for a given device.). There are of course other things, like if a watch has a touch screen or only hard buttons, a baro sensor or a compass, as well as differences that may occur based on the version of FW/CIQ VM (the D2 had the 1.1.4 VM up until a week or two back, while the other devices had the 1.2.x VM)