Ask HN: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad rental

[gnok]

I was wondering if there were any reputable shops I could rent iOS devices from? I'm working on a small collaborative iOS app. I can't afford to buy multiple devices, but I would certainly be interested in renting them for a week or so for testing purposes.

(If one doesn't exist, then this sounds like an interesting startup idea for someone with an appetite for logistical problems.)

Any recommendations?

[michaeldwp]

I'm not sure if something like that exists, but I've used http://deviceanywhere.com in the past for Windows Mobile testing. This was before the iPhone, they're still around and have iPhone support, so it may be helpful.

Once I got everything configured, it was pretty sweet. It wasn't hard to setup either.

The one thing is, from what I recall, they were a bit expensive. But they have free trials.

I also found this article that could be useful:

http://www.softwarequalityconnection.com/2011/03/testing-app...

There's a bunch of options for testing without buying a bunch of iOS devices. They also have more DeviceAnywhere-type services listed as well.

I hope this helps.

[gnok]

This is interesting. I'll look into this more. Thanks!

[ig1]

Places like CEX have fixed prices for buying/selling phones, so you could just buy the phones from them and sell them back when you're done.

[gnok]

Unfortunately, I need access to 4 (or more) devices in each class for testing and buying/selling that many devices becomes a little expensive. Its also a lot more complex than I would like.

Thanks for the link anyhow! I'm pretty sure I'll be able to use them for a different project.