Clients often want to see their mobile application as it is being built and also to see the final version of the application before it is pushed to the App Store. This is entirely reasonable and I wouldn’t want to publish an application until I know the customer has seen the application in action and is satisfied.
We do iPhone application development for institutions across the globe so it is often difficult to give an in-person demonstration of an application’s progress. To solve this issue we provide “Ad Hoc Distribution” for clients by sending them a copy of the application which they can install on an individual device to try out. This allows users to test the application in the real world before the application is released to the public. This approach is specific to Apple iPhone application development. Below are the steps to follow if you wish to preview an application before it is released to the App Store:
Part 1: Retrieving the Device ID:
1) Connect your iPhone/Touch/iPad to your computer which already has iTunes installed
2) Launch iTunes
3) Click on your device
4) Click on the text “Serial Number”.
5) The serial number will be replaced with the Device ID
6) Copy the information and paste it into a email and send the email.
Once we have the device ID we build the application and send it to the customer. They then need to install the application. The steps for install are listed below.
Part 2: Installing using Ad Hoc Distribution:
The video is very descriptive but the steps from video are:
1) Open the zip file
2) Launch iTunes
3) Copy the provision file and the application to your iTunes library
4) Attach your device and sync it including the apps.
About the Author: Chad Jones is the founder and CEO of CollegeMobile. He is a former Apple Engineer and credited with developing the first university level course for iPhone programming in Canada. Chad is considered an expert in mobile application development and has been featured by the CBC, CTV, Globe & Mail, and Macleans Magazine. Learn more about Chad Jones.
