Southborough-based uTest’s free iOS apps (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) hit the iTunes store yesterday to meet the needs of developers across the globe. The company offers a community of over 30,000 professional testers across the globe for software and app developers looking to test their products before they hit the market.

Thanks to the iOS releases, uTest customers can stay connected with their projects on the go. In fact, the company used it’s own services to test the app (five cycles worth of testing).  According to the company, the resulting increased quality of the uTest app enabled uTest to send it through the App Store approval process in 1.5 days, as compared to the typical 1-2 weeks of wait time.

Apps are becoming a must-have for companies looking to stay at the forefront of innovation. From mobile platforms like Apple and Android, to gaming systems like Xbox360 and PS3, to now Google’s Chrome Web Store, developers are releasing apps in industries and platforms across the gamut.

And one thing is certain with this prevalence of apps: developers want more control over testing and debugging, as one poor review can be disastrous to an initial launch. uTest provides real-world, professional-level testing of apps (as well as larger pieces of software) through its community across the globe.

The uTest app allows its customers to manage usability testing projects in real-time, approve/reject/track defects, communicate directly with testers, and even review screenshots and videos of bugs and defects. As for uTest’s community of testers, the app allows them to submit defects, test apps directly from their phones, upload videos/screenshots of bugs, communicate with customers (and other testers), and ultimately view their earnings from projects.

“Increasingly, retail, social and media apps have development and launch cycles that span 24 hours a day, around the globe,” uTest CEO Doron Reuveni explained about the reasoning behind the uTest app launch. “With uTest’s iPhone and iPad apps, our customers can stay on top of their mission-critical testing projects anytime, anywhere.”

uTest has been on a roll since it made AlwaysOn East’s Top 100 in June 2010. Later that month the company announced investor Jim Savage, partner at their lead investor Longworth Venture Partners, to their Board of Directors. This past fall, the Mass. Technology Leadership Council announced the company as a finalist for private company of the year along with companies like Carbonite and Gazelle. More recently and impressively, uTest was one of just 7 companies based in Massachusetts to make Red Herring’s Global 100 Finalists.

Have you used uTest services? What do you think of the company? Do you plan to use their iOS apps?