Ghostlab – Synchronized testing for web and mobile.
August 15, 2013
If you design or develop for mobile devices you might know the hassle to get a local installation on different devices.
My testing usually covers IE7-9 on Windows via Parallels Desktop, FireFox, Chrome and Safari on Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad and Chrome on a Nexus 7 Android Tablet. To get the same site on all those Systems is possible but not what you would call convenient.
Thats where Ghostlab comes into play. It generates a local “server” which you can access via a local IP address and it works perfectly to view (for example) my local WordPress development installation live on all my devices as well as on Windows under Parallels Desktop. On top of that it syncs your actions, whether they are on your desktop or mobile, so everything you click, scroll or touch will be synced on all devices. Cool stuff.
“Ok, but setup a server on OS X to test on several devices locally isn’t THAT hard, and i don’t need this fancy syncing stuff”, you might say. Yes, but it doesn’t stop there, it also gives you the ability to use Web Inspector with your Mobile Devices. Yes, you heard it right! Inspect your CSS Styles. On your Mobile Device.
Oh, and as a bonus, Ghostlab shows you a QR-Code so you don’t have to type in the IP address manually on your mobile devices, which may be the first example of a QR-code which does something more than wasting space.
The App is developed by Vanamco AG in Zurich and can be bought for 49$ from their website, which is a very fair price if you consider how much time and nerves this little thingy will save you. Of course you can also download a demo version, which i suggest you to do now.