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  #1  
Old 03-05-2010, 05:52 AM
Jason Dunn
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Default Windows Phone 7 Series Developer Info Starts to Flow

http://blogs.msdn.com/ckindel/archi...experience.aspx

"Different is often good. Especially when it's different for good reasons. Windows Phone 7 Series is different because we reset everything we were doing to focus on end user experience. This extends directly to the developer platform. Developers, designers, and producers of applications, games, and content these days are demanding that we be different as well. Over the last year we've had face to face conversations with 100s of developers all over the world about what we should do with Windows Phone 7 Series."

I think the above screen shot is fantastic, because it shows exactly how different Windows phone 7 really is - there's a strong sense of sameness as you move from left to right, but when you hit the Windows phone 7 user interface, you have to stop and take note that it's completely different from the others. Microsoft is taking a big risk by breaking away from the pack of normalcy every other mobile phone OS brings to the table.

Now, on to the developer stuff: first off, and this is no shock, there's zero backwards compatibility with Windows Phone 6.5 applications. This will doubtless upset some end users, and developers, but it underscores the point that this really is a brand new operating system. Yes, it's still based on Windows CE underneath (version 6 in this case), but it's not a coat of paint on the old Windows Mobile house. They tore that house down and built a whole new house in its place. Developers are going to need to re-code their apps. So what will they code it in? So far, we've been told Silverlight and XNA. Kindel's post also mentions Web 2.0 Standards and Microsoft developer tools, along with .Net. Nothing about C++ or native code versus managed code, but I suspect it's more the latter and less of the former. I'm not a developer though, so I'd appreciate hearing your opinion after you parse Kindel's post.

Hit up Charlie Kindel on Twitter to ask questions; at the bottom of his post there's also a number of Twitter accounts from other members on his team, so start asking questions - and be sure to report back here with the results so we can get an understanding of the developer story for Windows phone 7.

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Old 03-05-2010, 03:41 PM
whydidnt
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I'm not a developer, so don't understand all of the technical bits of this. But I am concerned that WPS7 will end up like WebOS with limited third party applications -both in number and functionality. I think Palm missed the boat by not having a full SDK at launch. The fact that MS appears to be limiting the tools developers can use and access to internal databases does not bode well for the platform, IMO.

Seems like most the rest of the world, MS goes from one extreme (WM where anything and everything goes) to this, where it's so locked down you can't the functionality many want out of the thing.

Seriously, the UI is different than the rest, but it remains to be seen if that means better or worse, and even if it's better, if folks can't do what they want or find an application to do what they want, why will someone by WPS7 instead of Apple? Will it be cheaper? I doubt that's the plan. Sorry but, I just don't think the XBox tie in is going to sell enough phones to matter. They need feature rich, high quality apps, and lot's of them, for the platform to be successful.
 
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Old 03-05-2010, 07:43 PM
Toshi
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Is is true that no previous apps will work on the new windows mobile 7?
 
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Old 03-05-2010, 08:28 PM
Jason Dunn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whydidnt View Post
I'm not a developer, so don't understand all of the technical bits of this. But I am concerned that WPS7 will end up like WebOS with limited third party applications -both in number and functionality. I think Palm missed the boat by not having a full SDK at launch. The fact that MS appears to be limiting the tools developers can use and access to internal databases does not bode well for the platform, IMO.
Microsoft is going to have to work hard - very hard - to get developers on board. They're going to need to provide a great SDK, lots of APIs for developers to tap into, and boatloads of money to kick-start developers and get them excited.

I'll repeat myself again though: the #1 complaint I've heard from Windows Mobile developers over the years is the fragmented, inconsistent hardware inherent to the platform. If you take all that pain away and tell developers, "OK, your target platform is a kick-ass device with a Ghz processor, 3D hardware acceleration, GPS, accelerometer, gobs of RAM and ROM, known buttons, a high-res WVGA screen, and a capacitive screen", they're going to be excited. Developers want to make money, and they want their software creations to work really great.

It benefits end users too; instead of wasting time coding and testing for six different screen resolutions and both touch and non-touch, developers can focus on making their products even better.

I don't know the whole developer story yet, but I truly believe this is the right move for Microsoft to make.
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Old 03-05-2010, 08:28 PM
Jason Dunn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toshi View Post
Is is true that no previous apps will work on the new windows mobile 7?
That's correct. It's a complete and total break. It's a new operating system.
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Old 03-06-2010, 06:59 AM
Toshi
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I suppose I will probably look at all the options for my next phone. I probably have spent at least a thousand dollars on software over the years. I'll hate to see them become unusable
 
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Old 03-06-2010, 04:59 PM
Russ Smith
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Having thought about this a bit more since my previous posts...

A lot of developers have offered reduced price for upgrades on software when you're already a customer. Co-Pilot even offers reduced side-grades (to another platform). I don't see why that practice would vanish with WP7. (So at least our investment shouldn't be a total loss.)
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Old 03-06-2010, 10:18 PM
Gerard
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonDunn
... boatloads of money to kick-start developers and get them excited.
Are you hinting at a free SDK with this? or mere promotional money and 'prizes' for select developers? 'Cause hey, as you know, I know a developer or two who would REALLY appreciate not having to spend many hundreds of dollars to enable development of freeware applications for the new platform. Along with a genuine lack of interest in charging for freeware, to support Microsoft's Marketplace of course. Helping Microsoft get richer by ending long-standing GNU freeware and other models is NOT in the interests of much of the FOSS community.
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Old 03-10-2010, 06:57 PM
Jason Dunn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toshi View Post
I probably have spent at least a thousand dollars on software over the years. I'll hate to see them become unusable
Are you really using $1000 worth of software on your current phone? I find that a little hard to believe...

I'd say what matters is your investment in current software, not what you spent in the past - and whether the developers of your current software will offer upgrades/new versions on Windows phone 7. If they don't, I can understand why you wouldn't want to switch to the new phone. But if they do...well, what's the problem?
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Old 03-10-2010, 06:58 PM
Jason Dunn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ Smith View Post
I don't see why that practice would vanish with WP7. (So at least our investment shouldn't be a total loss.)
I'd hazard a guess that every developer out there with a Windows Mobile 6.x customer base who choses to develop for Windows phone 7 will make every possible effort to bring those customers along to the new platform - offering discounts, maybe free upgrades, etc. No developer wants to lose his customer base that has taken years to build up...
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