Since the onset of the 21st century, India has witnessed a surge in the arena of mobile phones as convenient modes of communication. Mobile phone manufacturing giants such as Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and others have made billions from the fantastic surge in the demand for mobile phones among the Indian people. The growth of mobiles as a dire necessity has not only increased multi-fold in the urban areas of the country, but has also become as handy and as popular as in the rural areas. With the costs of mobiles coming down to only about $10-$20 for a single handset, the easy accessibility and the buying capability of the people have both converged to consequent into the business expansion of the mobile phone industry that has rocketed through the roof!

However, apart from these mobile retail giants, there are smaller mobile phone companies that provide cell phones at even lower prices, albeit without the warranty or guarantee most of the times. The temptation of a bulging market for these mobile phones as well as the high-end profits for a foray into the mobile phone business have been enough reasons for numerous such small-scale companies or individuals to open shops. From providing low-end mobile phones with only the basic services to high-end expensive phones that double up as media gadgets, with high-profile cameras, music-players and other similar complex applications. Most of the vendors operating here get their mobile phones modeled and developed from external vendors, who usually do not have the brand repute or publicity that renowned vendors enjoy. There are two main reasons for this ? low labor costs and convergence of mass skill sets. But since the development of the phones is delegated to low-profile external vendors, there is no way that guarantees they would not be dumped by the consumers in the national or international arena ? the vendors? target group.

Here is where mobile testing services come into play. Professional mobile testing agencies implement their technical expertise as well as other resources to identify a particular brand's or handset's individual fallacies and problems regarding various aspects of the phone. The initial aspect that an experienced testing agency would look for in a mobile is its network and connectivity testing and then benchmark the phone accordingly. For basic phones from such vendors, this is enough to check whether they will last the public scrutiny for a successful sales stint. Next is the testing of the graphic interfaces and multimedia applications ? such as in the high-end mobile phones? camera, music player, image quality, interface type etc. Value added services and extra features are tested next, although these may not be given as much importance by the vendors as the others. Offshore testing has particularly gained prominence today.

However, field testing is the last yet the most efficient and precise manner in which the professional testing agencies can find out the practical prowess of the handset. Testing teams travel over a region, continually testing the connectivity, the display as well as subject the handset to simulated situations and observe the impact of it on the handset. Thereafter a judgment is passed whether the handset is worthy of a sales campaign or not! Mobile testing is today deemed as one of the most necessary services for any mobile company that is set to launch a new mobile phone or an aggressive sales campaign. Independent software testing as well as professional software testing services are available aplenty today ? both in the real world as well as online!