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Recently, pocketnow.com got an invitation to tour Verizon’s national test lab in Bedmister, NJ, and the above video chronicles what we saw.

When I arrived, I saw a technician from a “certain” company with an upcoming phone that has yet to be announced. The technician was tweaking the software end of the device, and had several units of the same phone to be able to test variations of the software.

The purpose of the phone lab is to exhaustively test new phones for Verizon’s network. The shielded room, shown in the video, is used to block all RF waves from the outside world so that a new device can be tested in an isolated environment. Machines inside of the shielded room replicate various types of signals such as cellular and GPS, so that the devices can be tested.

Other segments shown in the video included a visit to a display case with dozens of old Verizon phones that go back to the early 1990s, including the infamous “Zack Morris” brick. During the tour, we also get to see the sound chamber used to make sure each handset is up to spec in terms of volume. Finally, we see a yellow head that is used to ensure that the signal blockage caused by our heads doesn’t cause dropped calls, etc.

For a phone to get through the lab and onto store shelves, it can take up to several months. But sometimes, based on input from the company’s senior executives and marketing division, a handset will be given high priority and moved through the process more quickly.

Overall, an interesting look into what goes on behind the scenes to get a phone ready for the end user at Verizon.