Category Archives: Uncategorized

Windows Phone “App to the Future” Design Challenge

1 Reply

Happy New Year to everyone!

We start 2013 with a Windows Phone competition that is being run by Core77, Inc. and Microsoft.


Now You Can Change the Future
Challenge ends February 3, 2013

Design an app for Windows Phone that showcases how to create, connect or impress the pants off your future self. Apps are a way to take control of your day-to-day life. Today they help you wake up, dress, commute, stay on top of news and reach the important people in your life throughout the day, and at their best they help you do things the way YOU want to do them. But what more could your apps do for you tomorrow?

Why wait to find out? REGISTER NOW to design your own App to the Future! Full details: http://apptothefuture.core77.com/

5 WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

A Microsoft Surface TabletSurfacea Windows Phone 8 device  Windows Phone device and a one year subscription to the Windows Phone DEV CENTER.

App to the Future is an app design competition open to the international design community, challenging entrants to design and mockup conceptual apps for the Windows Phone platform to help with their day-to-day challenges, better connect with their family or friends, or showcase an innovative, new app idea. The goals of Core77 and Microsoft are to showcase and triumph innovative designs through the Core77 Design Network of websites and the Microsoft Windows Phone Store and related websites such as Channel 9. Top winning entrants will be further encouraged to develop and sell their app in the Windows Phone Store utilizing prizes, resources and assistance provided by Core77 and Microsoft.

UK Windows Phone App Developers–’Port Your App to Windows 8’ Competition!

3 Replies

Having just completed the Windows Phone 8 JumpStart, you might think I would be totally focused on helping our developer community to incorporate some of the great Windows Phone 8 features into their phone apps. Well I am Smile – but we also want to focus on the great opportunities awaiting Windows Phone developers if you port your Windows Phone app to Windows 8. As published Windows Phone app developers, you are well-placed with the skills and knowledge of app building you need to create great Windows 8 apps. If your Windows Phone app would work well on a Windows 8 slate or tablet, think about porting your app to Windows 8 now, and you could win great prizes in a promotion we are running up to Christmas!

The Windows Store is open and a new opportunity is here. This is perfect for you as a Windows Phone app builder as you can create even more immersive app experiences, reach more people on more devices, and make more money on your terms. Richard Walter’s Calculator2 app on Windows 8 is now approaching 100,000 downloads after porting it from Windows Phone. More importantly, you already have the development skills needed to make the most of Windows 8. Check out the resources to get started or drop your details and register for a free consultation about building a Windows 8 app. You can port your Windows Phone 7.1 Silverlight apps to Windows 8 XAML, and if you have a game built with XNA you can port those to Windows 8 using MonoGame – see this blog post series for details on how to do that.

If you publish your Windows Phone app on to Windows 8 Store before 25th December 2012, you will go into an exclusive prize draw where you will have the chance to win one of 2 x ASUS VivoTab RT slates. Simply drop an email to ukmsdn@microsoft.com with your contact details and the URL & screenshot of your app in the Windows Store and you will get in the draw. If you can publish more than one app then you increase your chances of winning as you can have one entry per app. Note that terms and conditions apply (see link at the end of this post).

Furthermore, if you get a Windows 8 app in store before Christmas Day (25 Dec, 2012), you will get additional chances of winning great prizes including Windows 8 Slates and PCs. Click here to learn more. We are giving away one amazing 32 GB Windows tablets every day up to Christmas – that’s one lucky winner drawn at random from those who publish a Windows 8 app during this period. We also have the best app competition where 10 x finalists will walk away with a Windows 8 Ultrabook, a Windows tablet and Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 device.

I hope you can take advantage of this new and significant opportunity to take your apps from Windows Phone to Windows 8.

Andy

Windows Phone 8 Jump Start Video Recordings now available!

11 Replies

The videos for last weeks’ two days of demo-packed fun that was the Windows Phone 8 Jump Start are now available online. So if you missed the event, or part of it, or were there and want to watch it all over again, you can find them in one of these two places:

On Channel 9:

Here you can find the 21 (count em!) sessions we delivered over the two days, so start at the beginning and settle down to two days of information, or pick out the sessions that interest you, from the following:

Full course outline:

At the Microsoft Virtual Academy:

If you prefer a different way of learning, you can take the Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start course at the Microsoft Virtual Academy which includes the same video content, but allows you to track your learning through your dashboard at the MVA, and accumulate points as you take part in the learning. There are also many other courses and Jump Starts you can take part in.

Enjoy!

Mobile Operator Billing now live with 14 operators in 11 countries

Leave a reply

In all the wave of Windows Phone news recently, it may have missed your attention that Mobile Operator billing is expanding.

If a user is on one of the mobile operators listed below, the user can make Store purchases using their mobile account. Another way of making it easier for users to purchase Apps, Music and In-App purchase items!

See the current list here . This page will be updated as new MOs are added. Currently, it look like this:

The following table lists the countries/regions and mobile operators where Mobile Operator Billing in Store is currently supported. When you publish your paid applications to these countries/regions, Mobile Operator Billing will be offered automatically as a payment method for users of the specified mobile operators.

Data as of December, 2012

Country/Region Mobile Operators

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Finland

France

Germany

Mexico

South Korea

United Kingdom

United States

Telstra Corporation

A1 Telekom

Mobistar

Telus Mobility

Elisa Corporation

Orange France

Telekom Deutschland

Telcel

KT Corporation, LG U+, SK Telecom

Everything Everywhere Limited (Orange)

AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA

*Postponed* iOS to Windows 8 Live Event!

Leave a reply

Windows 8 is all about simplicity, for that reason we have decided to cancel this weekend’s event and combine it with a global event that is taking place in Seattle on the 14th and 15th of December. This 2 day event will start at 5pm on the 14th and will be run by the Big Nerd Ranch, all sessions will be live streamed, so regardless of where you are you can take part.

You can register for the global event here – http://bit.ly/SGddLJ

We still plan to hold a UK based workshop in early 2013, and we’ll ensure you receive plenty of notice as to when this is taking place.

Welcome to my new blog!

3 Replies

Andy WigleyHi, and welcome to the new home of my blog.

I started working for Microsoft as a technical evangelist a few weeks ago. In this blog, I will write on topics that will mostly be tips and techniques to help developers build apps for Windows Phone devices and tablets, slates and other mobile computers running Windows. Two weeks ago, we launched Windows 8 and last week we launched the Windows Phone 8 SDK – what an exciting time to be joining Microsoft!

Before this, I was a proud partner of APPA Mundi, the UK-based mobile consultancy and training company. They are still one of the best companies you can go to if you want to talk to some of the smartest mobile application developers on the planet. My old blog is still where I left it at http://community.appamundi.com/blogs/andywigley and there’s some good stuff on there. I may duplicate some of the most popular posts on here, but please go take a look at that blog as well for posts on .NET development on Windows Phone , Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile.

So, on with the show…