Developers

UK based Windows Phone User Group presents WPBarCamp

By Rich Edmonds, Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 10:52 am

The Windows Phone User Group, a meetup that's organised by platform developers for developers, is changing for the next calendar entry. On Saturday, May 19th, the WPUG will be held at the same premises as the previous event, but instead of starting in the evening and only lasting the best part of two hours, WPBarCamp will kick off at 9:30 in the morning for a beer-centric 6 hours.

So who's invited to such an event? Experienced Windows Phone developers - ie. those with either an app in development or available on the Marketplace. The main goal is for Windows Phone developers to learn from one another to improve quality with end results for consumers. WPBarCamp will be held at The Vibe Bar on Brick Lane with nearest stations being either Aldgate East (London Underground District and Hammersmith & City lines) or Shoreditch High Street (London Overground services).

You can register your interest (and seat) at the next Windows Phone User Group meetup at EventBrite. WPCentral will be there to cover the event, so if you're an attending developer be sure to say hello so we can look to help with app promotion and reach, as well as possible interviews and reviews. Our Jay Bennett will also be providing a presentation that will cover his previous experiences on the platform.

Developer Interview: David Hamilton, CTO and co-founder of Pepper

By Rich Edmonds, Sunday, Apr 29, 2012 at 9:26 am

This week in our Windows Phone developer interview series we're joined by David Hamilton, CTO and Co-Founder of Pepper. We took a quick look at Pepper from a recent Windows Phone User Group meet-up and were intrigued by both the idea behind the app and the vision for future cross-platform development.

So what's the deal with Pepper and how did it come to be? We threw Hamilton a set of questions for an insight into not only app-specific development, but how the team views Windows Phone against competitors. Head on past the break for the full interview.

Buddy platform goes free until August [Developers]

By RogueCode, Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 5:41 pm

In September of last year we wrote about the startup created by two ex-Microsofties called Buddy.

Buddy is a cloud platform that has support for all the major mobile Operating Systems (and HTML5), and makes it really easy to integrate web services into your app. With a few lines of code you could add a high score list, or get push notifications and Live-Tile updates out to all of your users, and that is just the basic stuff. There is support for a wide range of other usage scenarios which you can checkout in their documentation.

Here is the basic flow that they provide for a global high-score list:

Up until now there were different price tiers based on your usage, starting at a free account which provided enough API transactions for most small apps. But to celebrate reaching 5000 signed-up developers, the service is now totally free until August!

Check out the newsletter below:

Buddy Announces 5000 Developers
... and a pre-v1.0 launch gift!

We have great news that we want to share - but first, since our launch in beta last September we've been THRILLED with the support we've received from the mobile app development community the world over.
In fact, we're pleased to announce that we now have 5000 developers on the Buddy Platform - so thank you to every single one of you for your support, your feedback and your contributions so far!
The Buddy team has been working super hard (in fact so hard, that we need more people! Click here to learn more about opportunities to join our team), and we're in the final prep stages before we emerge from beta and release our v1.0 product.
To celebrate, we want to give our developers FREE access for all accounts consuming less than 2 million API calls per month - and we're going to continue doing so until August! So if you've been thinking about building an app on Buddy - there's never been a better time to get your feet wet.
To get started, download our free full code samples for iOS, Android and Windows Phone - these are full apps that will compile and execute - and tinker away from there!
Thanks again for your support, and we look forward to sharing more info on our post-v1.0 launch pricing shortly!

So if you aren't looking forward to forking out for Azure (or learning it for that matter), now is a great time to jump on board. Hit the source below to sign-up.

Source: Buddy platform

Windows Phone developers: Take a moment and fill out this survey

Developers

By Daniel Rubino, Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 5:22 am

We got word from some Nokia folks that if you make apps for Windows Phone, you'll want to take a short moment to fill out a nice little developer survey that's evaluating the smartphone ecosystem i.e. dev interest in making apps for various platforms.

This is one of those surveys from Strategy Analytics that will end up in a report showing how much devs love or hate their OS and more specifically, registering interest (or disinterest) in Windows Phone directly. That translates into "We need you to fill this out otherwise Windows Phone gets a bad rap, ya dig?".

According to the survey's front page:

"The following questions will help us and key players in the apps ecosystem understand the current thinking of mobile app developers. This information will only be used in aggregate to present a picture of how developers feel about the apps market today and its future.

Developers that complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win either a BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or Kindle Fire. The drawing will be held in early May. Developers that refer others to this survey will receieve (sic) additional entries into the drawing.

Please note that all individual responses will be kept confidential and results will be presented in aggregate. The survey should take no more than 10-15 minutes. Thank you for your time."

That sounds like a pretty fair request and we think as developers, you'll want to register your experience with these folks. If so, just head here, grab a cuppa joe and get started here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/803120/Nok

Original Flowchart image via Shutterstock

Microsoft saving Windows Phone developers time by cross-submitting apps to new markets

Developers

By Rich Edmonds, Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 at 7:03 pm

If you're an extremely busy developer with little time available to submit your app(s) to emerging markets that are being added to the ecosystem, then Microsoft is ready to lend a hand. Developers (including our Jay Bennett) have or will be receiving an email from the software giant requesting permission to submit apps to the new markets with no effort required from the developer. From the email:

"We are reaching out to ask your permission to cross-submit each of your Windows Phone apps into the markets* identified below, which includes more than 25 new markets. We realize that the process to cross-submit takes time out of your busy schedule, so we are requesting your permission to submit all of your applications on your behalf to save you time and effort. This will provide an opportunity for your apps to get additional exposure in new markets which may lead to more downloads and more revenue for your app(s)."

Markets included in the cross-submission are Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela and will announce UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Israel, Thailand, and Vietnam. For paid apps, Microsoft will convert the base USD pricing set to local currencies.

Developers who receive the email have until April 27th to respond. It's good to know the team is looking at ways to aid the app building community whenever possible.

Thanks Scott and Dave for the tip!

Windows Phone dev making over $1000 per day with adverts on Taptitude

Developers

By RogueCode, Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 at 9:49 am

Last time we touched on Taptitude they had just hit 100'000 download, and were doing pretty well for themselves. And it's only gotten better from there.

Taptitude is a game made by four brothers, which is a collection of mini-games. As you play through the games you gain points, which you can use to unlock more games. In total there are now over 60 mini-games, and more are added each update.

Over on their blog, they have detailed what the last year has been like for their game, as well as how much revenue they have made through Microsoft PubCenter ads in the game. So how much have they actually made? As of yesterday, they have pulled in slightly over $100'000 through ads.

And from the graph below (ad impressions), it's pretty obvious that it is not slowing down - in fact, in the comments on the article, one of the developers mentions that over the last few days they have been pulling in around $1400 per day.

They also give lots of other stats about the ads, impressions, and download so we recommend you go check out the source below.

One final thing that we found interesting was the device usages. It might be obvious given how much Nokia is pushing their Lumia range, but it's good to see that other developers are also seeing the Lumias taking top spot.

Source: fourbrosstudio

Code Warriors being unleashed onto the Marketplace to build missing apps

By Rich Edmonds, Tuesday, Apr 17, 2012 at 4:04 pm

Are you a fearless tribesman, ready to lead the pack? We bet you are you animal, you. Microsoft and Nokia are looking to unleash a number of "code warriors" in 14 cities to pack a punch on the Marketplace by building, crafting and basically reaching their inner-zen. Cash, devices and prizes will be on-hand for those who attend so it'll be more than worthwhile.

What's this "code warrior" hackathon all about? In each city the two companies will be hosting a number of events that will see a number of developers building apps specifically targeting gaps in the Marketplace. Apps that should be in those gaps, and are present on other platforms, will be developed by participants.

The Code Warriors is expected to be one of the pushes Microsoft will make in their plans to bring big brand developers / apps to the platform. Should you be interested in attending one of the events, be sure to check out what cities are being visited and when over at the Eventbrite listing.

Source: The Code Warrior, via: GoWindowsGo

Homebrew Windows Phone unlocking service comes to a permanent end

By Daniel Rubino, Friday, Apr 13, 2012 at 1:03 pm

Back in January we reported that ChevronWP7 Labs, the officially-sanctioned "jailbreak" service for Windows Phone "homebrew", was coming to a halt. At the time, the reasons cited mostly revolved around the difficulties some users experienced in installing it and the following tech-support needed to help them out. The project was put on indefinite hiatus with more tokens possibly being bought in the future.

However, today it's official: the experiment is over.

Within 120 days, those who unlocked their phones via the ChevronWP7 Labs service will have their phones re-locked. The good news is all users who bought a token are eligible for a one-year Microsoft App Hub membership, a $99 value and allowing them to stay unlocked for 12 more months.

The jailbreak service is being permanently shut down for a few reasons, including those cited above but also because many of those who did unlock their phones so that they could "sideload" apps for experimentation, never moved on to actually publishing any apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace. That was one of the goals of the project -- to reduce the $99 barrier for devs who might not be able to afford the App Hub membership.

While ChevronWP7 Labs is gone, the ChevronWP7 team made up of Rafael Rivera, Long Zheng and Chris Walsh will continue tinkering around:

"Fear not, we will continue to explore other ideas with Microsoft. All sides are still very interested in the hobbyist and homebrew developer communities."

For more information on the closure of the service and for those looking to upgrade to that App Hub membership, head to the ChevronWP7 Labs site here.

Microsoft details plans for dealing with Marketplace publishing slowdowns

Developers

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 at 6:31 pm

We reported a few days ago that Microsoft was experiencing a unique problem: the Windows Phone Marketplace has grown so much, so fast that their servers and backend getting hammered, resulting in app-publishing slowdowns. Everything from submissions, to certifications to the App Hub itself was getting slower.

Today, Microsoft's Todd Brix addressed the problem in a blog post noting that they have an immediate method for addressing these problems and a more long term one. The addition of all those new markets over the last few months has taken its toll on the App Hub experience, more than they had anticipated. As a result they will be re-working their backend, which will take some time:

"We’re already in the process of developing a more robust and scalable Marketplace service that will address current problems and pave the way for the even more rapid growth we’re expecting in the years ahead. But engineering work this significant doesn’t happen overnight. Our plan is to have it complete by late summer."

For the short term, they already have started to work on these two areas:

Adding more server capacity to better handle the increased load.
Streamlining our processes to accelerate the rate at which apps can be ingested, certified, and published.

As a result, developers are now seeing shorter turnarounds from their submission to publication dates, which is a good thing. However, the more substantial changes won't be felt until later this summer.

So once again, good news and bad news as Microsoft is adjusts to the sudden influx of new developers and markets for Windows Phone.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Get your app advertised in UK by Nokia and Microsoft in their Appvertising contest

By Seth Brodeur, Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 at 12:48 pm

Microsoft and Nokia are looking for new Windows Phone 7.5 apps to showcase in their next UK advertising campaign. They have kicked off a new competition in which developers can submit their apps for consideration, and if chosen, get them displayed across the UK. Those selected will appear in banner ads, the Windows Phone Marketplace, press materials, events and social media outlets.

MS and Nokia are looking for "innovative" apps geared toward UK consumers in the following categories: casual games, kids, family, health and fitness, shopping, social, travel, and utilities. For the time being, there are two monthly campaigns for May and June. Submissions for the May run should be submitted no later than April 20, while entries for the June competition will be accepted until May 15. If you have a newly-developed Windows Phone 7.5 app that you want to show off, simply go the competition website and click on "Tell Us Today."

The Appvertising competition's aim is not just to spread the word about Windows Phone, but also to engage people by enticing developers to create for their platform. This is one more example of shrewd advertising on the parts of both Microsoft and Nokia. They have been finding new and different ways of creating interactive advertising. Be it serving up beverages in Nokia's Amazing Vans or challenging consumers not to get Smoked by Windows Phone it's been interesting for sure.

Source: Microsoft UK

WP Screenshot sends screenshots from phone to PC over the network

By RogueCode, Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012 at 11:40 am

The guys (and gals) over at XDA regularly provide the Windows Phone community with homebrew apps that fill some gap that non-native apps cannot.

One of these gaps is screenshots. The Windows Phone Operating System provides no support for taking screenshots, which can cause reviewers like ourselves some hassles. So we previously covered an app called Screen Capturer which took screenshots and saved them to your pictures hub, and now 'N37-L0RD' over at XDA has developed a similar app called WP Screenshot.

It's pretty close to Screen Capturer, except for the main feature: pictures you take are instantly transferred right onto your PC, eliminating the extra step of syncing with Zune. It is also really basic to use and setup, which you can see below:

1) Download the two files attached to this post.

2) Deploy the .XAP to your device and open it up. Also open up the desktop app.

3) Open up command and find out your IP Address, and input that into the WP Screenshot app on your phone.

4) Once it's connected, half-press (as if to focus) the camera button any time on your phone and the picture should automatically pop-up on your PC. Press Ctrl+S to save the current screenshot. And press Ctrl+H to view the other commands.

There you have it, a super simple way to get screenshots from your device. This does require your device to be dev-unlocked, but does not require Interop-unlock.

Source: XDA

U.S. Students receive free Windows Phone for developing two apps

By Rich Edmonds, Monday, Apr 9, 2012 at 12:15 am

Microsoft is offering student developers who reside in the U.S. a chance to win a Windows Phone. There are some superb ways to get involved with development on the platform whilst studying at university, and the rewards with both experience and networking are invaluable. But what if you could throw a free smartphone into the equation? Makes Windows Phone development even more appealing, right?

So how does one be in with a chance of winning one? Simply publish two apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace and enter your details on the Facebook page for the offer. There are some guidelines that need to be looked at prior to steaming ahead:

You are a student in an accredited university/college in the United States
You have developed two Windows Phone applications that are (or will be) published between March 26th and May 31st, 2012.
The apps are targeting Windows Phone 7.5, and support Fast App Switching
The apps are of high-quality and are not created with one of the "do-it-fast" tools, like AppMakr or FollowMyFeed
You have not received a Windows Phone device in previous student promotions from Microsoft

Check out the Facebook page for more details and -of course- to submit your apps.

Source: Facebook (Microsoft Tech Student), via: Den Delimarsky; thanks Den for the tip!

Microsoft reaffirms app compatibility with Windows Phone 8, hints at Silverlight death

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Apr 5, 2012 at 11:15 pm

The question of whether or not today's Windows Phone apps will be able to work on the next "major version" of Windows Phone aka 'Apollo' or Windows Phone 8 was never a major concern for us as we just assumed they would work. We even saw a job description which said as much back in February.

Still for some developers there were lingering questions about Windows Phone 8 would have the same core as Windows Phone 7.x. While details are still very sparse to that former aspect, tonight on the Windows Phone developer blog, Microsoft's Larry Lieberman reaffirmed that indeed, today's app will work just fine on Windows Phone 8:

"With regard to existing applications: today’s Windows Phone applications and games will run on the next major version of Windows Phone. Driving application compatibility is a function of Microsoft’s commitment to its developers. Regardless of what we release in terms of new developer features and functionality, we have made a large investment in protecting your existing investments."

That is certainly good news and should allay some fears for devs. But perhaps what is even more interesting is we're getting the first hints that Silverlight may be de-emphasized for the next generation of Windows Phone:

"We’ve also heard some developers express concern about the long term future of Silverlight for Windows Phone. Please don’t panic; XAML and C#/VB.NET development in Windows 8 can be viewed as a direct evolution from today’s Silverlight. All of your managed programming skills are transferrable to building applications for Windows 8, and in many cases, much of your code will be transferrable as well."

To our ears, that doesn't sound like Silverlight will be a major part of Apollo (though it will be compatible) and from what we've heard from devs, that's not a bad thing at all. A more interesting reading is that Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 will be based off the same bits, especially when Lieberman notes that "...targeting a tablet vs. a phone, you do of course, need to design user experiences that are appropriately tailored to each device."

There's certainly a lot of reading in between the lines in that post and makes some interesting discussion, so fire away in comments.

Read more at the Windows Phone Developer Blog. Windows Phone 8 concept image by PocketHacks

High app submission rate to Windows Phone Marketplace causing delays in publishing

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Apr 5, 2012 at 12:25 am

We've noticed in our Twitter stream and from interacting with developers that there have been quite a few delays with Windows Phone Marketplace submissions. Before, it would take around 72 hours from submission to approval to publishing of the app. Now, it's taking significantly longer and there have been a few hiccups along the way too (see Rowi's recent update woes).

In the latest Windows Phone Developer Newsletter (April 2012), Microsoft confirms that indeed "due to high submission and update volumes, the app certification process is continuing to take longer than it has previously." Just how long? Microsoft states it can now take up to seven days which is quite an increase from the previous 72 hours. In turn, Microsoft is recommending to developers to plan accordingly by submitting as early as possible if they want a certain publishing date.

Of course this is a good news/bad news situation. It's a bit frustrating to developers who now have to wait significantly longer than it did a few months ago to get their app or app update to market. On the other hand, these delays are caused by a nice problem: a huge increase in app submissions to the Windows Phone Marketplace.

For point of reference, nearly 340 new apps are being published daily in addition to over 400 app updates which has resulted in just over 70,000 apps being available in the Marketplace (the 80,000 number is a bit misleading since it aggregates worldwide and doesn't count removed or inactive apps).

We imagine that if the Nokia Lumia 900 is successful, new app submissions could also increase over the next few months -- an issue we'll return to soon enough. Finally, Microsoft probably won't let this delay get any longer as they are trying to scale appropriately to meet the demand.

Marketplace statistics provided by WP7AppList

Developed Down Under: a local Marketplace highlighting app for Aussies

By Rich Edmonds, Wednesday, Apr 4, 2012 at 10:37 am

Developed Down Under is an upcoming app, developed by Mobile Wares, that will be of use for Windows Phone owners and developers who reside in Australia. The free app will allow developers to showcase their apps and games to a local audience. The targeted reach should provide developers with more downloads, ratings and usage compared to relying on the global Marketplace itself (depending on app functionality).

Some highlights of Developed Down Under:

Random suggested Apps upon each application launch
Additional search capabilities (includes ability to browse by publisher, latest apps, etc.)
Australian Windows Phone news related feeds
Relevant tweets displayed (#wp7au Twitter search feed, etc.)

For more control on what content is displayed, developers will have to opt-in (for free) to have their apps featured in Developed Down Under. News and tweets will be pulled down and loaded in the app from numerous sources and search / browse capabilities are present to create an efficient user experience for consumers.

Should you wish to have your app listed in the app, head on over to WPDownUnder to opt-in by filling in the available form (be sure to check out the terms and conditions first). WPDownUnder expects the app to be released over the Easter break. As well as the new localised developer app, a new hashtag for Twitter has been created - #ddu.

Source: WPDownUnder

Lumia 800s being handed to UK students who develop Windows Phone apps

By Rich Edmonds, Tuesday, Apr 3, 2012 at 8:16 am

Should you be a UK student (above the age of 16) and are developing for the Windows Phone platform, you'll be in with a chance of winning one of a 100 Lumia 800s that are being given away to student developers. All that's required is for young developers to submit apps to the Marketplace and they'll automatically be in with a chance of winning one.

Not only are 100 Windows Phones being handed out, but should your app prove to be unique and of high quality you could find yourself spending the day at a Microsoft office to expand knowledge and experience with platform technicians and experts. Pretty neat, eh?

To enter:

Register on the competition website.
The Student Team will then monitor your app submissions in Marketplace.
3 random prize draws (up to 30 x Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phones per draw).
1 Top App Competition (up to 10 x Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phones and trip to Microsoft offices).

Be sure to enter the competition before submitting your apps and check the terms and conditions. Remember that every app you submit will increase your chances of winning.

Source: MSDN

Co-Founder of Plex shares view on Windows Phone development

By Rich Edmonds, Monday, Apr 2, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Elan Feingold, co-founder of Plex, has shared his thoughts on the experience the company has had with development on the platform thus far. Plex recently released the official app for Windows Phone, which enables the user to stream movies, music and photos to their device(s) on the go.

Feingold is a longtime iPhone user who has never had any interest in Android, due to the mess of the system itself, fragmentation and how much work is involved into personalising the experience to suit the user's needs. He was introduced to Windows Phone ("Mango") by his brother, and explains his initial reaction:

"When Windows Phone 7 was released, I was intrigued by the design and typography [...] my initial impression (this was pre-Mango) was lukewarm, and I was obsessed with the iPhone at that point anyway, so I just went all fanboy on his ass and mostly ignored it."

Feingold moves onto talk about how he returned to Windows Phone in January and ordered himself a second-hand Samsung handset to aid with development. He was surprised by how impressed the operating system left him after initial use.

"Windows Phone felt original, well designed, and fun to use. The performance was great, really smooth in a way iOS is and Android isn’t even in ICS. The 'pivot' and 'panorama' UI concepts were fresh and a great way of making good use of a small screen in portrait mode. The typography was clean and brazen. The integration of Facebook and Twitter made them feel like first class citizens, not an afterthought. The live tiles on the home screen were a great way to make the phone feel alive."

The features of the OS were so appealing during and after use that it actually made Feingold almost dislike using his beloved iPhone. How was the development of the Plex app though, and does it stand up to competitor platforms? The icing on the cake is the below comment on how the development on Windows Phone compares to both iOS and Android:

"So how is the Windows Phone development environment? It’s scary good. C# is a great language, .NET is a solid framework, XAML is a really nice way to design user interfaces, and the edit-build-deploy cycle is fast. It still has a bit of growing up to do, but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding: we were able to write the app from start to finish in two months, between two engineers working part time, which is almost an order of magnitude faster than it took for the iOS and Android app."

Be sure to read the full blog post over at Elan's blog on Plex's website (see source link), and of course the official Plex app which can be found on the Marketplace.

Source: Plex

WP7 Root Tools 0.9 is here, with an SDK in tow

By Rafael Rivera, Wednesday, Mar 28, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Windows Phone hacker Heathcliff74 is announcing the immediate availability WP7 Root Tools 0.9 today. 'Root Tools is a suite of tools for Windows Phone that we've been following since inception and already features a full blown registry registry editor, file system browser, and certificate injection capabilities. But the new version comes jammed pack full of additional new and exciting features that will no doubt re-energize the homebrew community. I'm talking about features such as:

True and unfettered root access
Better performance
Increased device support
A new policy editor
A new software development kit

The more exciting news here, however, is the shiny new SDK (0.1) in tow, offering homebrew developers a set of APIs that tap into the same root-level features that the tool relies on. An application wishing to wield such power, however, must first seek permission from the user. That is, the users must explicity mark a particular app as "trusted". Grumble all you want, this gate is in place for obvious and serious security and privacy reasons. You don't want all those private photos on Twitter, right?

With no shortage of gullible install-everything phone users out there (see Android) policing root-required homebrew applications, Heathcliff74 admits, "will be tough." At this stage, we'll have to rely on the attentive homebrew development community to continue sniffing out crapware. In the future, however, a more centralized model complete with app certification may be in order.

All that serious stuff aside, Heathcliff74 was kind enough to let me play with the SDK prior to release and let me tell you: it's easy to use and full of awesome. Working with Delphi aficionado [ed -- *snicker*] David Golden (@GoldenTao), of MetroTwit fame, we decided to retry the implementation of my grandiose hackathon idea -- to create a complete backup the phone, including Marketplace apps. And succeed we did.

Screenshots of the upcoming Complete Backup app.

While the app isn't quite ready yet -- we still need to button up some networking code, resolve app guids to names, create a restoration app, etc. -- it will support the complete backup (and eventual restore) of Windows Phone application data to the PC via native sockets. And better yet, it'll be completely open-source and available on GitHub.

So at this point, you're probably thinking: "Where do I get this spoonful of delicious?" Simple. Head over to Heathcliff74's new home on the Internet, where he will blog about and host the WP7 Root Tools XAP. But be warned: The software drills deep into the phone. I can't recommend enough that you use Zune to backup your device prior to install. Oh, and you need to have a device that's "Interop Unlocked" (or flashed with a custom hacked ROM). Sorry.

28 Windows Phones controlled by 1 for one big Bing Maps [Video]

By Daniel Rubino, Wednesday, Mar 28, 2012 at 7:05 am

Ah, we always loves these cool little projects for Windows Phone enthusiasts.

Take this case where, as our title says, 28 separate Windows Phones were linked together and controlled by one phone using Bing Maps. As a result, when you scroll at the one Windows Phone, you'll move the map on those 28 screens at the same time. What's it called? How about "Bi(n)g Maps", eh?

Who was behind such mayhem? Why it's Rudy Huyn, the man behind the super popular Windows Phone apps TVShow, Fuse and MyEncyclopedia, of course.

Useful? Not really. Ingenious and clever? Definitely. (See the similar 144-screens linked together for a world-record here)

Source: Rudy Huyn; Check out another video with a different angle after the break...

Microsoft releases Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 Update for 256MB RAM devices

Developers

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Mar 26, 2012 at 1:41 pm

Take heed developers, you'll want to go update your Windows Phone SDK to the official 7.1.1 version which was just released today.

This latest update offers support for 256MB RAM devices aka "Tango" phones like the Nokia Lumia 610 and ZTE Orbit.:

"The Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 Update provides additional functionality to the existing Windows Phone SDK 7.1. Using this update, you can more easily develop apps and games that are optimized to run on 256-MB devices. This update includes a new 256-MB version of Windows Phone Emulator, an updated 512-MB version of Windows Phone Emulator, and IntelliSense support."

As noted by Microsoft, 95% of the apps currently in the Marketplace will have no problems running on these lower-end Windows Phones, but those remaining 5% will need to think about optimizing their app if they want it to run on these news devices. Microsoft began contacting developers who's apps won't be able to run the new Tango update back in February so as to avert any confusion on the matter.

Grab the new 7.1.1. SDK update right here from Microsoft and the read announcement on the Windows Phone Dev Blog.

For further information and tips on developing your app for Tango device, check out Nokia's developer guide and Best Practice Tips which should go a long way in making this an easy transition.