It's the third stage of software development. The "we're almost there" stage :-)

The software has passed internal testing and debugging and is now ready for beta release to the end-users or a test sample so that they can test the product and provide feedback. After this stage is complete the software goes through 2 more rounds and then will be available for general release in which case it is deemed by the developer to be "complete". Of course as we all know even after general availability release there will be revisions available in the future as well.

Basically beta is allowing you to test out an incomplete product in hopes that a wider audience will find bugs and report back. In your case you most likely will not have to report back in a conscious effort but they will receive feedback automatically, or via a simple screen prompt, and transmit it over the net.