Verizon device test lab photos
A walkthrough of Verizon's device evaluation lab in Bedminster, NJ.
-
You don't often see rooms like this next to cubicles.
-
Lab director Sam Oommen opens one of the shield room doors.
-
Verizon makes it obvious when testing is underway.
-
This LG smartphone is being tested to make sure it meets emergency / 911 standards.
-
Verizon emulates its network for devices in testing; they don't run on the same one customers are on.
-
The carrier tests video call quality. Video chats are one of the "advance calling" features made possible by VoLTE.
-
Verizon tests VoLTE calls to ensure a smooth handoff between Wi-Fi and the cellular network.
-
"We can control what type of service we want the device to see," says Kevin Caballero, one of Verizon's test engineers. "Good coverage, bad coverage, moving coverage, we can emulate everything we’d like."
-
It looks like something from 1940, yet it's an essential tool for Verizon.
-
The lab tests devices both in pre-production and after they've shipped. Major software updates must go through the process again.
-
Verizon uses special, lab-only SIM cards for devices that are being evaluated.
-
Who knew signal analyzers could have so many button?
-
It typically takes around four weeks for devices to pass through the lab.
-
A smartphone's noise cancellation is put to the test in this room, where the speakers blare out typical real-world noise (crowded bar, city streets, etc.)
-
The test dummies speak nonsensical sentences, but they contain words that can be challenging to hear in loud areas.
-
Admit it: they're a little bit creepy looking.
-
An outside look at the noise cancellation tests.
-
Oommen explaining the technology inside one of the many shield rooms.
-
Erik Van Treuren leads "accelerated life testing," which means he gets to drop phones 100 times each.
-
The machine drops phones from about pocket height, and cameras record the results in slow motion.
-
This machine shocks a smartphone's battery to ensure it meets specifications and won't explode in your pocket.
-
Another anechoic chamber that's used to gauge cellular performance.
-
Close-up!
-
"It becomes a real challenge to fit everything into the small real estate of the device, and at the same time, meet the performance objectives of Verizon," says engineer Raafat Kamel.
-
There's not much standing room in this one; I almost fell into the blue pit of spiked foam.
-
No device lab would be complete without a "museum" of handsets past and present.
-
The HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon's first LTE smartphone.
-
Motorola's old classic, the Razr.
-
A collection of forgettable early 2000s flip phones.
