Distributing a development version of an iPhone application

Question

My company has recently started developing custom iPhone applications for various clients. One of the challenges we are running into is how to get these applications to the client so they can review them during the development process.

Ideally, this would just be a matter of sending them the app file and having them install it on their iPhone. Of course app signing makes things much more complicated than that. We would have to add their phone ID to our development profile, have them provision their phone to accept the app, then install the app. This creates a headache for us of course in trying to walk the client through this process.

At this point, our best solution is either to simply send them screenshots or to snail-mail an iPod Touch back and forth with the app installed on it. Of course neither of those options is ideal.

Is there a better way to distribute development versions of iPhone/iPod Touch apps to non-technical clients?

Answer 1

Are you using Ad-Hoc distribution profiles? For me the process is like this:

They send their device uuid - which is visible in iTunes after you click the device sn. Then i send them the compiled application, and a provision profile. They drag both to iTunes, and sync their iPhone.

I don't think that's impossible for non-technical clients.