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Microsoft everywhere: MSN apps head to iOS and Android, company buys app service
Microsoft's got a weird history when it comes to strategy: popular software like Office has always been best on Microsoft's own operating system, Windows. In recent years, that's begun to shift -- Office is now everywhere, including Apple and Google's tablets, and the company's apparently taking a similar approach with other parts of its app library. The MSN suite of apps (News, Sports, Health & Fitness, Food & Drink and Money) is now available on iOS and Android; MSN Weather is out on Android, with an IOS release in the coming weeks. The mobile apps are just getting revamped after a relaunch of the MSN website earlier this year. Moreover, those apps are probably pretty okay on Microsoft's competitor's platforms: Redmond just acquired mobile app testing company HockeyApp. Wait, before you write off that name forever as incredibly silly (it is, you're right), know that it's just the moniker for a company that offers crash analytics and a test environment for mobile apps (from iOS to Android and even Microsoft's mobile Windows platform). Yes, it is a pretty unexciting sounding acquisition, but what it means for the big picture is more important: if, say, Google were to buy the platform, Microsoft could lose a strategic part of the mobile puzzle. And Microsoft isn't in a position to lose any ground when it comes to mobile -- the company's beyond a distant third place spot when it comes to mainstream adoption.
Microsoft acquires app testing platform HockeyApp
App beta testing and crash analytics service HockeyApp today announced it is being acquired by Microsoft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company did confirm that its mission to make the best mobile app testing platform will remain unchanged. We want to be very clear about the most important thing: we remain dedicated to our mission of making the best mobile app development feedback and testing distribution platform in the world. Your HockeyApp apps and accounts will continue to work and the team has not stopped working on advancing the platform. Throughout the next few months, we'll reveal more about our plans with Microsoft. In its announcement, Microsoft confirmed HockeyApp will be integrated into Visual Studio Online as part of the service's Application Insights. This feature provides app analytics and includes support for iOS and Android. Microsoft plans to introduce new Application Insights SDKs with HockeyApp support in the coming months.
DevJuice: HockeyCoach introduces crash report inspection and management
If you're a HockeyApp customer, the service that enables you to collect user feedback, distribute betas, and analyze tests, you'll be pleased to learn that the company has just introduced a new app. Just launched, HockeyCoach helps you view and manage your crash reports. With just a few clicks, you'll be able to view your source code side-by-side with the crash report. All you need is a git repository and a commit tag. Hockey Coach correlates the source with the symbolification to make sure you view the right error point. HockeyCoach also coordinates with bug tracker tickets. It's a free download for all current HockeyApp customers. HockeyApp plans start at $10/month for indies and go up to $300/month for Enterprise deployment.
DevJuice: HockeyApp improves crash reports, beta testing
You may be familiar with the well-respected TestFlight beta distribution service. Now, HockeyApp has arrived on the scene to give TestFlight a little competition. TUAW sat down with its developer to discover what the service might mean to you. Like TestFlight, HockeyApp offers a core beta over-the-air distribution service. This includes managing testers, invitations, and beta recruitment. But the service goes beyond that. HockeyApp also adds advanced crash tracking to the mix. As a developer, the first part of fixing any problem is discovering what that problem is. HockeyApp helps you collect, manage, and understand crash reports so you can better improve your apps. HockeyApp includes an open-source framework that you embed into your applications. It allows your apps to collect crash reports -- both during the beta period and after App Store deployment. HockeyApp automatically symbolicates the crash reports and it groups similar crashes together, giving you a higher level overview of problem areas within your apps. Symbolication enables you to associate program symbols with crash reports collected by the HockeyApp framework and by App Store. Instead of the hexadecimal addresses normally supplied by the crash report, symbolication translates information from the app's .dSYM files to meaningful labels. Integrating the framework allows you to know exactly in which classes and methods, and at which line number your apps crashed. The website provides a complete reporting solution. That's where you can view statistics and analyze your crashes. Plans start at $25 a month, supporting up to 5 developers and 25 apps at a time. Premium plans grow from there for more heavy-duty development operations. If you're a small independent developer (up to 2 developers, up to 5 apps), you can take advantage of HockeyApp's limited time $10/month Indie Plan. Remember this: iTunes Connect collects just a fraction of your app's crashes. HockeyApp's developer promises his service will help you localize where your crashes are happening, so you can improve your app's reliability. Better reliability means better App Store ratings, and better ratings mean better overall sales. Want to learn more? Visit the HockeyApp feature overview page.
