Invodo, the experts in visual commerce, announced the launch of their Virtual Device technology. Invodo’s Virtual Device lives in the cloud and can expose a live instance of any Android OS through any web browser.
The technology has huge implications for wireless carriers and manufacturers who can use it to improve the pre and post sale shopping experience for their customers. With Virtual Device, a shopper can try out different phones online before they buy, eliminating the need to visit a store. “Virtual Device will change how consumers research and shop for smartphones, tablets and wearable devices,” says Invodo CEO, Craig Wax.
Support and training teams at wireless carriers and OEMs currently rely on legacy emulator and simulator tools that tend to be slow, outdated and limited in the number of concurrent users. “Today, support reps struggle to access the right device and OS version at the right time and are heavily reliant on text based scripts” says Invodo Vice President of Engineering, Jim Keeler. “Virtual Device gives them instant access to any device to better service their customers.”
Training is also a substantial opportunity for Virtual Device to provide efficiencies and cost savings. “Distributing physical devices to support ongoing product releases costs millions of dollars every year,” says Wax. “The cost savings for replacing this outdated practice alone makes Virtual Device a worthwhile investment.”
How it works
Virtual Device eliminates the need for physical hardware by accessing a cloud-based instance of the OS, accessible from a web browser. Wireless carriers and OEMs will be able to use Virtual Device in a variety of ways to better service their customers:
- Online: Consumers will be able to try out a phone or compare devices side by side from their web browser, without having to visit a store.
- In-Store: From an in-store kiosk, consumers will be able to easily try out and compare the latest devices, creating greater efficiencies for sales reps.
- Customer Support: Support reps will be able to share a Virtual Device instance with their customers to more effectively troubleshoot problems remotely.
- Sales and Support Training: Training teams will have instant access to devices, including pre-release models, eliminating the need to ship thousands of physical devices to stores and call centers around the wor
