Datasheet

Let ’ s start in the top - left corner with Tools and Support. For anyone who is already using Visual
Studio 2010, you ’ ll be aware that there is no support for doing Windows Mobile development. This
was primarily a decision as to where to invest resources by Microsoft, and I think everyone will
agree that it was a decision well made. The tooling for Windows Phone throughout both Visual
Studio 2010 and Expression Blend dramatically reduces the time to build applications. In addition,
the fact that these two products share the same solution and project structure means that both
developers and designers can work in harmony on the same project at the same time. These tools
will be covered in more detail in the next chapter, which shows how easy it is to get started with
building your fi rst application and debugging it on the Windows Phone Emulator.
Looking to the right, you ’ ll see the Runtimes square. One of the most signifi cant aspects of
Windows Phone is that it fulfi lls the Microsoft three - screens goal. As a developer you can build
an application or game and have it target one or more of the screens running Windows Phone,
Xbox, or Windows 7. Unlike the .NET Compact Framework, which provided a reduced feature set
compared to the desktop, the Silverlight and XNA runtimes available within Windows Phone are
virtually identical to those you are already familiar with. Although you need to make a decision as
to whether you ’ re going to use Silverlight or XNA, you can still access a wide range of functionality
from across the device no matter what technology you build your application or game in.
In building applications for Windows Phone, you are likely to want to access some of the cloud -
based services that Microsoft has to offer. These include a notifi cation service, for when application
data changes and you want to notify the user; a location service, which integrates the device
capabilities such as GPS with online services for resolving Wi - Fi locations; and access to the user ’ s
Xbox Live information from within your application. Going forward, expect further support for
building Windows Phone applications that integrate with other cloud offerings such as Bing Maps
and Windows Azure.
The last quadrant refers to the Developer Portal Services, which covers all the online services
through which you as a developer interact in order to have your application certifi ed and published
via Marketplace. As Microsoft wants to ensure the highest quality of applications in Marketplace,
there will be a more rigorous process for developing for Windows Phone. The online portal will
be the point of reference for all your applications and will, hopefully, be the place where you go to
receive monies generated by your application.
SUMMARY
Throughout this chapter, you have learned about the Windows Phone user experience, its origin in
the transportation industry, and the birth of the Metro design language. In the coming chapters,
you will see this language and its associated principles in action as you discover more about what
it takes to build a Windows Phone application.
Summary
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