The Unified Testing Alliance, a group with members including AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, Orange, Samsung and Sony Mobile, changed its name to App Quality Alliance, in a move it said forms part of a “deeper commitment to quality in app development”.

The group describes itself as “an independent, non-profit organisation funded by its members with the sole purpose of helping developers improve the quality of mobile applications”.

The Alliance is set to launch the latest version of its Best Practice Guidelines later this month, for developers across platforms. These are said to combine “straightforward common sense with advice gained from years of experience of testing applications”.

It also said that as part of its work, it has been working on a beta “Quality App Directory”, with a launch planned for September. It described this as “the first of its kind and an important resource for app retailers, carriers, app stores and other organisations that are seeking the best quality apps”.

The group said it has updated its Java ME Testing Criteria and its Android Testing Criteria, to help developers prepare for listing in the Quality App Directory.

Martin Wrigley, chairman of AQuA and director of developer services at Orange, said: “As the app development market becomes more competitive, good quality assurance is what sets successful developers apart from the crowd. End users now include more than the techsavvy and this places a requirement on all of us in the mobile industry to make sure our apps are seamless and intuitive to use”.