Developers worldwide are using Canada as a testing ground for apps before rolling them out to other markets.
This testing process might be common knowledge among app creators, but the typical mobile user may not realize an app he downloads today has undergone months of testing in Canada.
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Global developers have kept an eye on the Great White North, using it as a way to work out bugs and kinks before introducing software elsewhere.
"Canada is a good test market for several reasons. The data you get there is reliable and comparable to the other major markets — the U.S., the UK, Denmark and so on — and the country is also of a good size," Thorbjörn Warin, CMO of Finnish gaming company GrandCru, told Mashable. "It is big enough to get enough users for reliable data, but also small enough that you don't loose too much by testing there."
GrandCru is currently testing its game Supernauts in Canada. The game enables players to build a new habitat on Earth once the ice caps melt. The company will roll out the game to more markets in the upcoming weeks, Warin said.
Canada has a strong tech penetration when it comes to smartphones and tablets with 3G and 4G connectivity, as well as readily accessible Wi-Fi throughout the country, making it in line with offerings from the United States.
"Canadians also tend to be very friendly and when asked, provide great feedback," Warin added. Although Canada is typically the top market for testing apps, various developers said they are also focusing on other small- to medium-sized markets such as New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Israel is also becoming a popular test bed.
Supercell, which recently climbed to gaming fame following the success of its iOS hits Clash of the Clans and Hay Day, is quietly testing a new iOS app in Canada called Boom Beach, which will likely roll out to more countries later this year.
"We have done this with previous releases, too," Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen said. "We want to test games outside the U.S. because it is the No. 1 market. We know once we go to the U.S., we want it to be right."
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Image: Mashable composite. iStockphoto, exdez; Flickr, Doug Belshaw
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