At Netvlies, we believe in testing on physical devices over emulators or simulators. That's why we've opened our device lab for everyone to use.
Open Device Lab
How do you know if your responsive design works well on a BlackBerry? Are your buttons easy to reach on a Samsung Galaxy Tab? Is your website performing fast enough on an old Android? What does the Nokia Bell browser support?
How do you test all that? Do you use simulators or emulators, or do you use real devices?
You'll probably know the answer to that, testing on a real device is always better than a software solution. But it's not possible for all webdevelopers to buy all those devices. That's where we try to help a bit.
In our open device lab we currently have a collection of seven phones and three tablets for everybody to use to test their websites. You can come by, use our WiFi and know how users experience the physical devices.
You can read more about the device lab in Paul's blogpost (Dutch).
Device Library
In our lab we have a growing number of different devices. We try to get as many different types of devices, not only the newest, but also older models.
If you have a phone or other mobile device lying around, please consider a donation to our library.
All our phones have nicknames, they're internally used for easy recognition ("Do you know where Usain is?"). They are usually named by the donater or after the donater.
| Manufacturer | Model | Operating System | Contributor | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Kindle Fire | Android 2.3 | Cover-Up | Jonathan |
| Apple | 2nd generation iPad | iOS 5.1.1 | Netvlies | Padtrick |
| Apple | 3th generation iPad (retina) | iOS 5.1.1 | Netvlies | Padro |
| Apple | 3th generation iPad (retina) | iOS 6 | Netvlies | Padricia |
| Asus | Nexus 7 | Android 4.2.2 | Irish | |
| BlackBerry | Bold 9700 | BlackBerry OS 5 | Laura van Heijst | Usain |
| BlackBerry | Curve 9300 | BlackBerry OS 6 | Netvlies | Alfons |
| BlackBerry | Dev Alpha B | BlackBerry OS 10 | BlackBerry | Aaron |
| BlackBerry | Playbook | BlackBerry Tablet OS 2.1 | BlackBerry | William |
| Geeksphone | Keon | FireFox OS 1.0.1.0-prerelease | Netvlies | Wanda |
| HTC | 7 Trophy | Windows Phone 7.5 | Rob Verbeek | Rob |
| HTC | Desire | Android 2.3.7 (Oxygen mod) | Johan Michels | Desi |
| HTC | Desire | Android 2.2 | Jan Verbeek | Bas |
| HTC | Desire HD | Android 4.1.2 (JellyTime mod) | Sander Krul | Harry |
| HTC | Desire Z | Android 2.3.3 | Maarten Verstraeten | Maarten |
| HTC | Dream | Android 1.6 | Paul Verbeek | Henk |
| HTC | Radar | Windows Phone 7.5 | Netvlies | Barry |
| HTC | Touch | Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional | Jan Verbeek | Jan |
| HP | TouchPad 4G | webOS 3 | HP | Roy |
| LG | GW620 | Android 2.2 | Corrie Verbeek | Dik |
| Nokia | 500 | Nokia Belle | Netvlies | Tomi |
| Nokia | E66 | Symbian S60 | Martin Savelkoul | Tinus |
| Nokia | Lumia 610 | Windows Phone 7.5 | Nokia | Eugen |
| Nokia | Lumia 800 | Windows Phone 7.5 | Nokia | Andrea |
| Samsung | Galaxy Nexus | Android 4.1.1 | Pete | |
| Samsung | Galaxy Tab 10.1 | Android 4.0.4 | Netvlies | Gordon |
| Sony | PSP 2000 | PSP system software | Paul Verbeek | Sonny |
| Sony Ericsson | Aino | Java Platform 8.5 | Lia Mast | Bert |
| Sony Ericsson | C905 | Java Platform 8.4 | Liedewei Ratgers | Erica |
Location
Our device lab is situated at Netvlies in Breda, The Netherlands. You can come by any time, but please let us know beforehand.
Of course our test lab is not the only one around. Take a look at the list of Open Device Labs to see if there is a lab in your city.
Do you want to establish an Open Device Lab in your city? LabUp! is here to help you!
