Devs Get More Features In App Hub Including Private Testing (Details)

AppHub went down today and now that it’s back up there are new features. You now see crash counts front and center, you can see reviews (sorted by location), there are more pricing options in some countries (like Australia) and they added an option for beta testing, except the FAQ associated with it doesn’t link properly.

If you recall, this is how beta testing works:

In contrast the private model enables developers to use the same Marketplace service to distribute applications to a defined set of people that they select for beta-testing. Developers will identify their beta-testers and then upload their application to the developer portal. The Windows Phone application deployment system will then ensure that the application is available on the beta-tester’s phones via a “deep link” the tester will receive in email. We’ll be rolling this mechanism out as we finalize the developer portal this fall.

So you don’t need to be unlocked to test any more. We’ve learned (via Long Zheng) that this does NOT require app submission or approval, can go to 100 testers and lasts for 90 days.

On top of this, developers can now easily edit their apps description, category and artwork within AppHub on the fly.

Make a happy dev and they’ll return the favor…