Check out the Light Reading Leading Lights 2014 Finalists!

Check out the interview with Melissa Blanken http://telexchange.org/device_hub.asp

December 10, 2013 – Baltimore, MD – Apkudo, the device quality assurance company, and the China Academy of Telecommunication Research of MIIT (CATR), today announced that the companies have agreed to deliver Apkudo’s device user experience testing and analysis to the Chinese market. Apkudo Approved, a comprehensive user experience analytics suite, helps wireless operators and device manufacturers successfully launch their mobile devices.

An Apkudo Approved device is one that provides a consistent, reliable, and well-characterized user experience. The Apkudo partnership will allow Terminal Test Labs (TTL) within CATR to help their customers determine how their devices perform across millions of different user scenarios, exercising key apps, and comparing them to every other similar device on the market.

“China is the largest wireless device market in the world,” said Song Chongwen, Director of Marketing and Sales at TTL. “This market has matured so rapidly that user experience is often an afterthought. It is critical the dominant Chinese operators and manufacturers now aggressively focus on how to make their customers’ user experience better.”

“Apkudo is committed to helping the mobile device ecosystem deliver the best possible user experience. TTL currently tests about 1000 devices a year, and with Apkudo’s help they can ensure that higher quality devices get into the hands of Chinese consumers,” said Josh Matthews, CEO of Apkudo.

Fragmentation on the Android operating system presents many complications for developers. It is a time-consuming and expensive process to test games out on dozens of different devices, and even then it’s unlikely studios can get their titles running perfectly on every phone or tablet in use.

That’s where device-testing firm Apkudo comes in. Keep reading…

Apkudo Lauded as Leaders in Android Device and Application Testing

Baltimore, MD – June 20, 2013 – Apkudo announced today that it has been named to the annual FierceWireless “Fierce 15” list, designating it as one of the top privately-held wireless companies of the year. FierceWireless editors evaluated hundreds of organizations, and found Apkudo to be one of the “fiercest,” proven by their creativity and innovation in the Android marketplace.

FierceWireless, an internationally recognized daily email newsletter reaching more than 80,000 senior wireless industry executives, provides executives in over 100 countries with a quick, authoritative briefing on the day’s top wireless stories, including new trends and technologies.

“Apkudo’s extensive testing of Android smartphones gathers a multitude of metrics to objectively determine how a device performs both by itself and compared to other Android devices in the market,” said Phil Goldstein, Editor of FierceWireless. “Because most carriers and device manufacturers don’t perform the kind of testing Apkudo does, the company provides a valuable service that has improved Android device quality in a way that hasn’t been done before.”

Apkudo Approved helps wireless carriers and device manufacturers make better Android devices. Apkudo works with carriers and device manufacturers early in the device-approvals process and throughout technical acceptance to put any phone or app through almost every conceivable Android user activity or use-case. The Apkudo Approved data-driven approach gets phones launched faster through identification of critical device issues before launch, and significantly reduces device return costs by delivering a top performing device with quantitative data than can help carriers match target segments with phone experience.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by FierceWireless, the industry’s must-read news leader,” said Josh Matthews, Apkudo CEO. “The wireless community depends on FierceWireless to provide the most up-to-date news along with analysis of major industry trends. It is an honor to be recognized by such a well-regarded news outlet.”

The FierceWireless “Fierce 15” celebrates the spirit of being “fierce” –  championing innovation and creativity, even in the face of intense competition. The complete list of winning companies is available on the FierceWireless website at fiercewireless.com

About FierceMarkets
FierceMarkets, a wholly owned subsidiary of Questex Media Group, a leader in B2B e-media, providing information and marketing services in the Telecommunications, Life Sciences, Healthcare, IT, Energy, Government, and Finance industries through its portfolio of e-mail newsletters, Web sites, webinars, and live events. Every business day, FierceMarkets’ wide array of publications reaches more than 1,300,000 executives in over 100 countries.

About Apkudo
An Android user experience innovation company, Apkudo is pioneering analysis technologies that deeply and holistically test pre-release Android devices against millions of different possible use-cases and activities to discover bugs and refine the user interface and experience, taking devices from bad to good, and good to great. Apkudo works with many of the world’s largest device manufacturers, including Samsung, Sony, HTC, and LG, and carriers such as MetroPCS, Cricket and Cincinnati Bell.

Apkudo is headquartered in Baltimore, MD. The Apkudo team includes deep research expertise with the Android operating system including optimization, usability and performance testing, and is focused on helping the ecosystem deliver the best possible user experience to Android device owners.

Learn more at apkudo.com or email hello@apkudo.com for additional information.

How Do You Define an App? Part 1

How Do You Define an App? Part 2

Thanks to everyone who tuned in to watch Josh on “Taking Stock!”

When Ben Rogers started here a few months ago he quickly learned the ins-and-outs of the Device Analytics lab and was eager to get his hands on everything in the App Analytics lab, too. The guy is like a sponge (earning him the nickname Sponge BRog) and we soon saw the need to bring him on full-time.

Ben “Sponge BRog” Rogers

Ben is Apkudo’s newest Lab Technician, performing analysis on all of our Device and App Analytics phones and tablets. We sat him down and grilled him like a…sponge? Sorry. We asked him 10 Questions. Here are his answers.

1) What made you want to get into computer science and engineering?
I like this field because you can see history changing before your eyes. It sort of allows you to see the future before anyone else. Oh…And I like all the “sciency” stuff.

2) Favorite Nintendo game of all time.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start…..it’s a toss up between Contra and Metal Gear.

3) What do you do for fun?

Other than work at Apkudo? I sound boring but here goes: I like to workout. P90x is awesome, but now I’m doing the Spartacus 2.0 workouts again. I couldn’t live without running, I’ve been doing it for over 16 years now (mostly from my problems). I would consider myself a ‘runner’. I’ll let you in on a secret that runners keep. A sock makes for great TP…so if you see a runner with only one sock, you know what happened. I like to read, but don’t do enough of it. I like to read all kinds of content from science to sci-fi, politics to religion, and everything in between. The last book I read was The Walking Dead Vol. 1.

4) You’re stranded on a deserted island. This magical island lets you choose one restaurant at it that you’ll have to eat at for the rest of time. What do you choose?

Very tough question because I LOVE food (good thing I like to workout). I should say a buffet for the variety, but I don’t know any buffet’s that are that good. So, it would have to be a Top Tier Steakhouse, but I don’t know any. Ruths Chris is the best one that came to my mind. Also, it has to serve a full range of alcoholic beverages.

5) Marry/F**K/Kill: Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, Ursula.

Marry: Captain Hook
F**K: Cruella de Vil
Kill: Ursula

Captain Hook could take me around the world with many exciting adventures.
Cruella de vil: I like puppies, but Ursula was an ugly octopus woman.
Unless it’s the hot Ursula…then everything changes.

6) Best advice you’ve ever received.

Just Do It

7) What song do you want played at your funeral?

I don’t care what is played at my funeral, I won’t be here to enjoy it. But it should be something fun or something that my friends and loved ones want to hear…Maybe just the chorus from Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Good Bye.

8) What website could you not live without?

Google.com–it seems to be the launching pad for everything I do online. Lame, I know, but what am I supposed to say, Bing?

9) If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

It’s between time travel or super human intelligence. If Super Human Intelligence would result in me figuring out time travel (among other things) I would pick that…then I could be a super intelligent time traveling genius!

10) Do you have any hidden talents?

If I tell you they won’t be hidden anymore. But, no. Sadly.

And there you have it!
Thanks to Ben for answering all our crazy questions and welcome to Apkudo!

We wanted to get to know Deej on a deep, spiritual level so we asked him 10 Questions (it was actually 11, but he refused to answer “Who Farted?!”). Here we go!

1) What made you want to be an engineer?
I got a TI-83 calculator in sixth grade and started messing around with TI-BASIC. That was my introduction to programming, and I just haven’t stopped since.

2) Favorite video game of all time.
I’m going to break the rules and pick three games here. They would be Megaman X through X3 on the SNES. Every once in a while I’ll play through each in a row. Those games never get old. I’m going to break the rules again and plug my favorite freeware game, Spelunky. I think everyone should play that game, its amazing.

3) What do you do for fun?
I write games (that I never finish). I also play the guitar and make music with real instruments and trackers (I’ve got a lot to learn about trackers).

4) You’re stranded on a deserted island. You can have one book, one movie, and watch one TV show for the rest of your life. What are they and why did you pick them?
I think I’d bring Don Quixote (it’s quite a long book). For a television show, I’d bring Star Trek: The Next Generation. I could watch every episode of that show again and again. Although, I have been meaning to watch The Wire… (I hear its good.) I could pick a classic cinema masterpiece here, but f**k it, I’d take Total Recall. Its got Arnold Schwarzenegger and it’s just a goofy sci-fi action movie that I could watch over and over again.

5) Marry/F**K/Kill: Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Gutenberg, Benjamin Franklin.
This is an easy question. I’d have to marry Ben Franklin because he seems like a fun guy (I’d just ignore his love of French women). I suppose I’d kill Leonardo simply because every picture I’ve ever seen of him depicts him as an old man. And then I guess I’ll f**k Gutenberg. Moveable type is pretty sexy…

6) Best advice you’ve ever gotten.
I cannot think of any good advice I’ve received in the last 23 years of my life. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t listen anyways.

7) Best compliment you’ve ever received.
“You’re not that ugly.”

8) What website could you not live without?
If I didn’t have Stack Overflow I couldn’t do my job (don’t tell anyone).

9) If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I would want to be able to stop time. I could stop time and get a full night of sleep. I could stop time and have breakfast in the morning. I could stop time and flee from my enemies. The list goes on and on.

10) What’s your biggest pet peeve?
When people chew with their mouth open. I probably do it and don’t realize it, but it still irritates me.