Windows Phone 7: Did You Get Yours?

November 10, 2010 Leave a comment

First off, a big thank you to all who came by my Windows Phone 7 launch event at the TELUS flag ship store located at the Eaton Centre.  Congratulations to all those who walked away happy with their new Windows Phone 7 device, either the HTC 7 Surround or the LG Optimus 7, and their new XBOX 360.


For all those still searching for that specific Windows Phone 7 device, don’t fret.  Windows Phone 7 devices are still available and additional phones are on their way.  Here is an update as to where you can secure your choice device:

   Samsung Focus
   		Currently Rogers has very limited quantities available for purchase online. In store availability will happen in the next few weeks.
HTC 7 Surround
  		TELUS has limited quantities available for purchase online and in store.  More quantities will be available shortly.
 
LG Optimus 7
   		TELUS has limited quantities available for purchase online and in store.  More quantities will be available shortly.
 
LG Optimus Quantum
   		Bell has limited quantities available for purchase online and in store.  More quantities will be available shortly.

 

Filed under Product Launch, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , , , , , ,

Would You Like A Side Of XBOX360 With Your New Windows Phone 7 Device?

November 7, 2010 5 Comments

Well after countless hours of planning, public speaking, working late hours, and neglecting my blog, the big day is finally upon us.

Launch day for Windows Phone 7 happens this Monday November 8th right across North America and I can’t be more excited.  To watch the Windows Phone offering evolve as much as it has over the past 10 months, let alone the past 10 years, has been exhilarating and finally you too will have the chance to experience all that is Windows Phone 7.

Yours truly will be hosting a live radio remote alongside 104.5 CHUM FM at the flagship TELUS store located at the lower level of the Toronto Eaton Centre and that is not even the exciting part.

Microsoft would like to reward you for your choice of either the HTC 7 Surround or the LG Optimus 7 by giving you a FREE XBOX 360 console on launch day.  So not only will you walk away with “A different kind of phone” but a gaming console to complement it.  Did I tell you gamers can play certain XBOX LIVE games on Windows Phone 7 versus gamers on XBOX 360?  Yeah, I thought that would grab your attention.

This offer is exclusively available at the flagship TELUS store at the Toronto Eaton Centre and I have been told that the XBOX 360 consoles for this offer are in limited numbers so be sure to arrive early.  Further details regarding the offer will be available in store. 

This Monday is going to be a Windows Phone 7 party and you are all invited.  See you there Canada.

Filed under Events, Product Launch, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Showcase Your Talent And Gain Knowledge At The Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Clinic: UPDATE

October 12, 2010 Leave a comment

Update: I will have a HTC 7 Surround, on loan from HTC, on site to allow you to test your application on production hardware.  Also representitives from both TELUS and HTC will possibly pass by to attend the event during the day.  If you are having trouble registering for the event email me directly.  Please let me know the name & type of application as well as your contact information to register.

Remember, only those working on or willing to showcase their Windows Phone 7 application may attend.  I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.

Yesterday Microsoft and its partners announced the first wave of Windows Phone 7 devices and that they will be available November 8th here in Canada. Events will also shortly be announced to give people a first look at actual devices which will be carried by TELUS, Bell and Rogers. These events will generate tremendous consumer excitement for Windows Phone 7 and mark the beginning of launch activity that will take place during the holiday shopping season.

Yesterday was also a big day for Windows Phone developers for a few reasons. By now I hope it’s clear that your apps and games are central to the value we’re offering end users with Windows Phone 7. I am also taking every opportunity to demonstrate how the applications you are generating extend the new Windows Phone 7 experience to both carriers and the end users.

To ensure success of the applications currently being developed, Joey DeVilla and I, alongside our Developer Evangelism Team, will be running a Windows Phone 7 Developer Clinic at our downtown location, 222 Bay St, Toronto, ON, from 9am until 5pm.  To help with this endeavor, I have asked for the assistance of Canada’s reining Windows Phone 7 developer champion, Mark Arteaga, to provide his expertise and guidance to any developer attending the event.  I have also secured live developer devices and actual production devices for you to test your applications on.  This will allow you to debug on actual devices to ensure the experience provided is the one you expect.

Space is limited for event so be sure to register by sending an email to Samantha Wong, and she will confirm your spot at the event.  I look forward to meeting you all and experiencing your innovation designed for a different kind of phone first hand.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with ,

WP7 Marketplace: Ensuring Your App Is Ready For Launch

October 5, 2010 1 Comment

Windows Phone 7 marketplace has recently opened its doors to begin receiving application submissions. With that being said, there is also a growing wave of developers submitting WP7 applications for certification and inclusion in the catalog. Since there is so little time before launch Microsoft has prepared a list of tips that should help most developers pass on the 1st pass. Following are the top things to consider before submitting an application for certification to help increase the chances the application will pass testing the first time thus making your application(s) available for launch. 

 
1. READ the docs!!!  Understand the application policies that represent the requirements all applications need to meet in order to pass certification testing. The Windows Phone 7 application certification requirements are posted at http://developer.windowsphone.com.   We’ve documented all the policies and requirements is detail.    Taking the 30 minutes to read this will save developers a lot of time.

2. Know your iconography.  Screen shots should encompass the full 480  x 800 dimension, must be a direct capture of the phone screen or emulator and needs to represent the correct aspect ratio.  Avoid using the default Windows Mobile icons.  Lastly including a panorama background image is optional, but recommended. This will enable Microsoft to potentially feature your panorama image on the Marketplace catalog to help improve your application’s visibility with the likely result of more downloads.

3. Support Information  Until 10/31/2010, it is recommended that applications include the version number or support information (for example a URL or email), which is easily discoverable by end-users.  Modify your applications now to help plan for 11/1/2010 when this test case will be enforced.

4. Toast Notification  There must be the ability for the user to disable toast notification.  On first use of HttpNotificationChannel.BindtoShellToast method, the application must ask the user for explicit permission to receive a toast notification.

5. Applications Running Under a Locked Screen  This only applies to applications that continue to execute when running under the locked screen and does not apply to applications in a suspended state. Prompt the user for explicit permission to run under a locked screen upon first use of ApplicationIdleDetectionMode.

6. Back Button   Back button behavior is one of the most typical failures. A common failure is pressing the back button during application runtime exits the application, instead of returning the application to a previous page or closing the presented menu or dialog.

7. Themes   Avoid controls and text washing-out by testing applications with the Theme Background set to “light”.

8. Languages  Be sure that the application description and the text the application displays to end users is localized appropriately in the target language.

9. Failures upon Upload to the Marketplace  There is a validation tool that assesses your application upon upload to the Marketplace. Some common failures include Error 1029 – “Your XAP in missing an interop manifest.” Make sure the interop syntax is specified in the manifest file. If the account does not have permissions to run interop, this error message will also be generated.

10. Windows Phone Developer Tools  Be sure to use the RTM version of the Windows Phone Developer Tools as applications built on previous tool versions will fail testing.Following these 10 simple tips will ensure your application will be quickly approved and ready to be offered in MarketPlace.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with ,

Additional Windows Phone 7 Coffee and Code Dates Announced

August 31, 2010 Leave a comment

If you missed out on our last WP7 Coffee & Code session, don’t fret, as additional dates have recently been announced and we plan on spreading the love across Canada.  Don’t miss the opportunity to try out your code on real hardware and learn from the WP7 development experts like Mark Arteaga and Joey DeVilla.  Here are the following dates for the upcoming events:
   
  There are also some events being planned for next week:
More event dates will posted as they become available.  So grab you gear and come on down to one of the posted sessions.  We look forward to testing your application on real hardware over coffee soon.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , , , ,

Windows Phone 7: Coffee and Code Toronto (UPDATE)

August 11, 2010 5 Comments

The Windows Phone 7 emulators provided by Microsoft are a fantastic tool in trying out you’re newly coded applications.

    On Thursday August 12th, from noon until 8pm, Mark Arteaga, Joey DeVilla and I will do one better and allow you to try out your apps on actual hardware.  Come on down to the Starbucks located at at King and Yonge  (4 King Street West, right on top of the subway station) and follow the energetic sounds of the accordian to the big conference table located at the back of the shop.  There you will find three smiling faces holstering three Windows Phone 7 devices (two LG and one Samsung) happy to load your application on real hardware.  The event is free and is a great opportunity to gain insight on Windows Phone 7 application development. 

So spread the word and tweet us  (@AccordianGuy aka Joey DeVilla, @MarkArteaga, and @WirelessLife aka ME) if you are coming by.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with , , , ,

Next Best Thing to Being at MIX10

March 15, 2010 Leave a comment


Upset that you were not able to attend MIX10?  Well not to worry as the good folks over at Channel 9 will be broadcasting all the MIX10 announcements live starting at Noon EST.  As an added bonus, Channel 9 is allowing you to be a part of the MIX experience and converse directly with executives, presenters and technology leaders via Twitter.  To ask a question during the conference follow @ch9live on Twitter and post your questions there.

Lastly, be sure to follow my good friend and colleague Joey DeVilla on his blog or via @AccordionGuy on twitter as he will be reporting directly from the event giving his Canadian spin to all announcements made.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with ,

Making Microsoft’s Surface Mobile

March 3, 2010 Leave a comment

The Microsoft Surface is one of the greatest multi-touch devices available in marketplace today.  If you were lucky enough to attend the Olympics in Vancouver or have recently visited a WIND Mobile store, then you’ve had a chance to interact with one.  While cool, it’s hefty size and $15,000 USD price tag may deter you from purchasing one. 

What if Microsoft were to make the surface mobile providing you a more organic way of interacting with your device.  Well that offering is already being showcased.  Techfest 2010 is an event where the Microsoft Research team showcases the innovative projects they are working on. One project dubbed the “Mobile Surface” links a mobile phone to a camera and projector, letting people interact with a screen projected onto a tabletop by moving their hands in the air above it.

The video demo above showcases the possibility for users to control the volume of a music application by lifting their hands up and down over the table. Microsoft currently is not commenting when or whether this might be made into a product. The are suggesting however that mobile phones will increasingly contain their own projectors and in addition to existing built-in cameras the offering will provide a more innovative and simpler way for end users to interact with their mobile devices.

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MIX10 is almost here: Have you registered?

March 2, 2010 Leave a comment

MIX10: Free Dev Tools & Support to MIX Attendees

MIX10 is in less than two weeks.  Have you registered yet?

With 12 sessions lined up specifically covering Windows Phone developement and free tools provided for said development the event looks to be a hot one.  Keynotes announced will be delivered by the likes of:

  • Bill Buxton - a relentless advocate for innovation, design, and – especially – the appropriate consideration of human values, capacity, and culture in the conception, implementation, and use of new products and technologies
  • Scott Guthrie – corporate vice president of Microsoft’s .NET Developer Platform, where he runs the development teams responsible for delivering Microsoft Visual Studio developer tools and Microsoft .NET Framework technologies for building client and Web applications.
  • Joe Belfiore – corporate vice president and director of Windows Phone Program Management, responsible for the design and software product definition of Windows phones.
  • Dean Hachamovitch, GM of Internet Explorer, will also be on hand to talk about the future of web design and user experience.

If you have yet to register, you can do so here.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events, Windows Phone 7 Series Tagged with ,

MIX10: Developing Applications & Games for the Next Generation of Windows Phone

January 26, 2010 3 Comments

  For those of you lucky enough to be attending MIX10 in Las Vegas March 15th – 17th at Mandalay Bay, you are in for a real treat.  Word is that specific sessions will be covering developing applications and games for the next generation of Windows phone.  Possibly the first developer’s look at the up and coming Windows Phone platform you may ask?  All indications point to yes, however, expect more information to be released shortly after Mobile World Congress in February.Click here for those of you interested in attending MIX10.

Filed under Developer WorkShop, Events

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