The Remote Device Access (RDA) service has expanded, and now offers a range of Series 40 phones. If you’re not familiar with RDA, it’s a handy service that enables you to test your apps on phone models you may not have physical access to.
It works like this: you logon to the RDA service and are offered a selection of phones — usually several of each model. You pick a phone you want to use, then book it for up to three hours. (If you have a specific testing schedule, you can also make advanced reservations.)
Starting your session opens the remote access desktop; this displays the phone’s screen and a virtual keyboard. You then use the phone through the keyboard or, for touch screen phones, with your mouse through the virtual screen display. Installing your apps is easy — you use the remote desktop’s install feature to locate the app’s jar file and upload it for installation. Once installed, you locate and run the app as you would on any Series 40 phone.
To assist with testing, RDA also offers features to transfer files to the phone and take screenshots.
RDA offers the following Series 40 phones: Nokia 6260 slide, Nokia 7230, Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia C2-01, Nokia C3-00, Nokia X2-00, and Nokia X3-02.
New phones and new features are being added to RDA all the time; you can follow the developments on the RDA team’s twitter feed: @nokia_rda. To find out more about RDA and the available Series 40 phones, visit here.
