Shane. Thanks for the response and your interest.

Any suggestions on how to post to this site to generate further interest would be appreciated. Right now I am building the test group and response has been high in several forums. I think people see the value of a large and ready test group. Adding features to your site would make sense once the group is up and running, but for now I want to take the time to build participation - so it is done right.

I have a blog.. griff-new@blogspot.com
(on the concept)

Here are some notes on progress...

The group is growing. Participants have joined the app test group from over ten forums representing four countries, six time zones, ages 14-55 and two devices to-date. All signed on by sending personal message or email to griff.blog@gmail.com. Those that did not send contact (email) information are not included in the testing group yet.

The appeal seems to be… the common interest in improving the applications and expanding the use of Android. As well as the desire to broaden testing feedback to a larger group for objectivity, and adding feedback on application features and market appeal.

Feedback from various contributors has resulted in some new ideas.

Participants can choose their level of involvement. Testers can participate as often or as little as they like, choosing to contribute on any level. Just test and provide feedback, become a moderator, or participate in custom testing. So you can match the time you have or commitment level.

Correspondence within the group. Eventually, participants will be able to contact each other (outside of the otherwise blind testing methodology) to interact with this uniquely motivated group of contributors.

Opt-in for public reporting of results. Developers can post their apps for review and feedback privately, or opt for results to be included in an open report. This periodic report would be provided to participating developers for their own purpose, and potentially to marketing outlets that cover app development and provide more in-depth review (appnoodle, androidtapp, andriodguys, androidandme, therebelroid and traditional media like cnet and such one day).

The value of peer review. Since testers would be familiar with the development environment, they might be able to make suggestions based on their experience with the code base. Those with advanced familiarity with frameworks, libraries, runtimes etc. might help those without. “hey, here is a way you could add a suggested feature”. Testers would have familiarity with many apps that are already out there, so could make an informed value assessment based on what is unique, different, or better than what is out there.

Custom testing. Apps that rank high in value, might submit for a special round of testing. Here the developer could request that testers stress given functions or engage in certain activities with defined frequency in order to gather useful information on variables like traffic, bandwidth, storage, etc. helping the developer model cost and resource requirements.

Shane - any thoughts, suggestions... feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers
griff