Develop Reference

Performing mobile search on an android device using python

How might I go about performing automated mobile search using python?
I have a program exploiting the Microsoft Rewards program, but currently I'm limited to desktop search. The bot performs random searches via bing for various accounts to gain points, later redeemed for voucher codes.
My intention is to do the same for mobile.
I appreciate this is quite a general question, but despite my best efforts, I can't find even a starting point.

This can be done via a desktop through a browser mobile device simulation.
Chrome browser: More tools -> developer tools -> toggle device toolbar.
This can also be done via hotkeys and hence suitable for automation. Now have the program perform searches using the same desktop search protocol; searches will be performed as if they're from a mobile device.
Others browsers have this capability.

Cross mobile browser testing

What is the best way to test my website across various mobile browsers AND various versions of each of those browsers.
Additional Info:
Most of the online cross browser testing support wide range of desktop browser testing, and quite a range of mobile devices. But they don't seem to offer various versions of mobile browsers on those devices.
This similar question is quite old and it is surprising that in spite of the proliferation of mobile devices and focus on responsive designs, testing services for mobile is not catching up.
Major mobile browsers I would like to target : various mobile versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Dolphin, UC Web etc
Just wanted to note this and this good alternative to online testing services for desktop browsers. Maybe something similar exists for mobile browsers too?

I'll suggest that both Opera's "device mode" is a really good for a first crack. But nothing beats actual device testing. I have found the odd case where Chrome's iPhone mode renders something different than what the actual phone does, but I would say it is about 90%. And the fact that it is so much easier to tweak code, and refresh using Chrome on the desktop rather than tweak, and refresh on phone, that I tolerate the 10% difference as long as I can. Then I just verify on an actual device after I am done with Chome's device mode.
I have not used Opera's device mode, but have heard it is good too.

There is a tool called as https://www.browserling.com/ which can be used for Desktop and Mobile testing(Android)

I don't think there is one way of doing cross browser testing across various mobile browsers and versions. It all boils down to what you want to do?
It is impossible to cover ALL browser combinations and versions. So my suggestion based on experience would be-
If you have too many combinations in mind, use a combinatorial tool (pairwise testing) from here - http://www.pairwise.org/tools.asp and reduce the number of permutations to get the best coverage.
Then go to Android and Apple website to see what the most commonly used phones and versions in the US, Europe and Asia region are based on where your customers are located. They have all these stats publicly available on their website
If you have google analytics see what browsers, versions and phones your users most commonly use to access your website
Now, you will have a list of devices and browser versions which is more focused.
Check what budget you have to invest in cross browser testing. Based on that I would recommend buying at least a couple of phones and tablets based on the usage statistics you got in the first 3 steps. Then, you can choose from a number of cross browser testing tools/services like
BrowserStack
Amazon Devices Farm
Saucelabs
Now atleast you have a more scientific way of doing cross browser testing :-)

Accessing/Upgrading/Clearing Mobile Devices: MDM

We are building an enterprise focused mobile application.
To take this app to the market we need to figure out how to remotely
a) upgrade / wipe the application on mobile devices
b) get access to the device for support and troubleshooting
I guess mobile device management (MDM) applications like AirWatch or
MobiControl can do this job. But they are expensive and do a lot of
other things which we are not interested in.
Is there anything else in the market that is especially geared for
mobile application developers to add the above features within their
application?
*Addition:
We are working on iOS and Android for now.

iOS
Install/Upgrade
On iOS you can use MDM API to install and upgrade apps. However, there are multiple gotchas
A user has to accept it
If the same app is preinstalled by user, you won't be able to install it/upgrade it through MDM
Wipe
You can wipe only whole device or you can remove an application which will remove it's data. However, you can remove only apps which was installed through MDM
Get access to the device for support and troubleshooting
If you are talking about remote desktop like capabilities then you are out of luck. You can't remotely control it. However, you may be interested to look at airplay mirroring.
Android
Install/Upgrade
Look at this: Android: install .apk programmatically
Install Application programmatically on Android
Wipe
You can use device admin capabilities for this: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/admin/device-admin.html
Get access to the device for support and troubleshooting
I am not sure.
Obvious self-marketing :)
Can you contact me by email (I have it in my profile). My company does a lot of things which you are interested it. May be we can find interesting opportunity for a cooperation.

View website as mobile from desktop

I'm developing a mobile version of my site and I don't have my mobile phone with me to view my changes. How can I mimic mobile view on a desktop for development? I tried http://iphone-emulator.org/, but It doesn't change my User-Agent to mobile. I'm on a Mac.

If you are on a mac you can download the iOS SDK which embed a simulator. You can also find an emulator inside the Android SDK.
EDIT : faking the user agent is a false solution since you don't have the exact rendering engine than you have one device.
EDIT2 : if you're starting mobile device development one advice : beware of blackberries (the old versions of the OS embed the IE6 of mobile)

You can use the emulator that Android offers.

The easiest and quickest way to get an idea of your mobile web app is with Chrome:
Settings -> Tools -> Developer Tools -> Settings (right site bottom) -> User agent (in Tab menu) -> "Override User Agent"
Remember: the results of ANY emulator should be verified by real mobile devices on regular basis.

If you want to view the effects of multiple user-agents at once you can try http://prism.mobiforge.com. It shows an iframe for each mobile device, using the correct user-agent string for each one. It's a handy check, but not a way to test the actual rendering on real devices, as AsTeR notes.
It also shows the overall page weight in each case, which can be useful.

Using "User Agent Changer" for Firefox...
Set Developer option under Safari.
Development->Change User Agent

Amazon Silk Browser - Considerations for Mobile Web Developers

I have a client who wants me to optimize their mobile website for the Kindle Fire. I've done development on iPhone, iPad, and Android, but not for Android tablets and not specifically for the Kindle Fire either.
I wanted to know, as a mobile web developer, are there any special considerations I should make or any red flags I should be aware of for doing web development on this platform?
After doing some research, it looks like it's using Android 2.3, running an Opera mini-like browser called Amazon Silk, and using a networking protocol called SPDY. A found an article that suggests I should be designing for a 1280 × 752 space.
I found one article on Quora that says "Silk tracks user behaviors in aggregate, and will attempt to predict likely next pages (similar to what some browsers do to preload links - just in a more targeted manner). It then delivers that content to the device ahead of time." That raised a little bit of a red flag for me because I do implement some server side (php) tracking and logging on some of my webpages. I don't want to be recording logs on pages that aren't being requested by a real person.
Other than that, I don't really see anything else to be concerned about. Thoughts?

The Amazon Silk backend does employ certain optimizations to reduce latency. But, as a general rule, you don't need to factor the Silk backend into your web development considerations. There are no gotchas to worry about.
With regard to the UA string: You can find the latest and greatest info on the Silk user agent at the Silk Developer Guide: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/silk/latest/developerguide/user-agent.html.