Developers, developers, etc
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously made it clear how important he considers software developers to be a few years ago. This is probably truer than ever now, as Microsoft prepares to launch Windows Phone 7 (WP7).
Considering it's the world's dominant PC operating system company, Microsoft's mobile OS is shockingly peripheral. Apple redefined the mobile space a few years ago and in the past year Google's Android has neared ubiquity among handset makers who don't have their own OS. Meanwhile BlackBerry continues to grow, Nokia has committed to Symbian and MeeGo, and HP decided it was time to buy its own mobile OS.
So there's just a bit of pressure on Microsoft to get WP7 right first time, or risk becoming permanently sidelined in the mobile market. This is why the release of the WP7 developer tools beta, well in advance of an anticipated launch date of Q4 this year, is significant.
Apple, once more, was visionary in realising that at the centre of the smartphone experience is the app store. Not only does it add value, but also stickiness, as anyone who's spent any money on apps for one platform is going to be disinclined to abandon them when switching to another. Android is fast catching up, and RIM and Nokia both have established app stores.
Microsoft has been refining the Windows Phone Marketplace and will be hoping to demonstrate a vibrant and varied app store when WP7 is finally unveiled. But for that it needs to persuade third-party developers to take time away from proven platforms like iOS and spend time on WP7.
In a blog post, Microsoft offered a link to the release note for the beta, and also detailed some of the highlights:
- Microsoft Expression Blend for Windows Phone - Blend is now integrated completely into the Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta.
- Developer Registration Utility - Now you can unlock you Windows Phone 7 device for development purposes.
- XAP Deployment Tool - if you want to deploy XAP files directly to an unlocked device, now you can.
- The Windows Phone 7 API - we're getting close to completion. Many namespaces that were previously distributed over several different DLLs have now been consolidated into one. In addition, there have been realignments and changes in several other namespaces as well. Push Notifications, Accelerometer and App Bar APIs have all been updated.
- Additional Controls - There are some additional controls coming in the next few weeks (i.e. Panorama and Pivot) which didn't make the beta release. They are coming soon.
- Control Templates - Silverlight for Windows Phone control templates have been updated to match evolutions in the overall OS.
Microsoft has also announced a free, live virtual class for would be WP7 developers taking place on 20 and 22 July. Furthermore, it confirmed that it will be getting preview devices out to developers this month, starting next Monday.
Lastly, we couldn't refer to Ballmer's proclamation on developers without embedding the vid, and we thought we'd stick in the ‘monkey dance' one too for good measure. Sorry Steve.
