Selection and execution of user level test cases for energy cost evaluation of smartphones

Abstract

Smartphones are emerging as a preferred communication device of users. In this paper, we provide a methodology to select user level test cases for performing energy cost evaluation of smartphone applications. We define the concept of a user level test case for smartphones and show that, due to configuration settings, there exist millions of such test cases. Next, we discuss a test selection technique to reduce the number of test cases. We apply the technique to five different smartphones and evaluate their energy costs for running common network related applications. We have developed a test bench to execute those test cases for real applications on smartphones and measure their actual energy costs. This work provides a framework for researchers and developers to conduct experiments for measuring the energy cost of applications on smartphones.