If you're an iOS developer, you NEED TestFlight. It makes the process of sending betas, client demos, really anything you'd use an adhoc build for, so much easier. I use it almost every day, and I can't count how many frustrating hours it has saved me.
(Not a paid advertisement, I just really love TestFlight this much, I promise!)
When I first saw TestFlight I waited several months to get into the beta before I gave up and just wrote my own to use. I don't want to be all spammy but I'll post it if anyone wants.
If you're looking for a more DIY solution, I found a tool call iOS Beta Builder helpful. It prepares the XML manifest and creates a nice HTML page, so your testers just need to click to install. (you need their UDIDs first). The process is:
- "build and archive" from Xcode
- save the ipa
- drag it into beta builder
- publish output to a your website
- send URL to beta testers
So can one use this process to install non-signed apps onto a non-rooted iPhone? Does this mean I can write an app for the iPhone without going through Apple's AppStore?
No. It's primarily a way for registered iOS developers to send beta builds to their testers' devices wirelessly. The usual process required syncing via itunes.
We've been using this process (rolled our own) for a couple months and I very highly recommend it, whether you build it yourself or use this TestFlight thing. Your testers will love you.
Weird that this hasn't been submitted before. The process (and purpose):
You create
1. One or several team groups
2. One or several user groups
You can then proceed to push pre-release builds to TestFlight and have specific groups of users (press, volunteers, friends, iPod/iPhone 3G/3GS/4) try the build, before it's sent to the App Store. Sending a release to the App Store before testing it with a larger group of users can be pretty catastrophic.
As a bonus, you basically drag and drop your .ipa(?) file to the browser, and TestFlight does the rest. The users can then proceed to get the build through TestFlight's HTML5 app.
Before, as I understand, the alternative was to send your app files to people and have them import it in iTunes.
It looks like all real information about what the service does is under the blog.. From what I can gather, it allows you to manage beta/prebeta (free) access to the apps you are currently developing for iOS.
(Not a paid advertisement, I just really love TestFlight this much, I promise!)