You are browsing the archive for 2010 November.

Windows Phone 7 Development Links

November 13, 2010 in Windows Phone 7

Microsoft Tools

App Hub – http://developer.windowsphone.com (http://create.msdn.com/en-US/)

  • Visual Studio 2010 Express
  • Expression Blend for Windows Phone
  • Windows Phone Emulator
  • XNA Game Studio 4.0
  • Silverlight/.NET Framework

Code Samples (Silverlight) – http://create.msdn.com/en-US/education/catalog/article/wp7_code_samples

Code Samples (XNA) – http://create.msdn.com/en-US/education/catalog/?contenttype=4&devarea=0&platform=0&sort=1

Application Bar Icons for Windows Phone 7

  • 32-bit computers – C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.0\Icons
  • 64-bit computers – C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.0\Icons  

Theme XAML files

  • 32-bit computers – C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.0\Design
  • 64-bit computers – C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Phone\v7.0\Design

Windows Phone Developer Registration

Application Deployment

Capability Detection

GUI – http://mobileworld.appamundi.com/blogs/petevickers/archive/2010/11/02/gui-interface-for-capabilitydetection-exe.aspx

Silverlight Performance Analysis tool – Coming Soon (announced at PDC10) – http://www.shazaml.com/archives/silverlight-performance-analysis-tool-coming-soon

 

Documentation

Fundamental Concepts – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff967549(v=VS.92).aspx

Windows Phone Design System – Codename Metro  – http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=189338

Design Templates for Windows Phone 7 – http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=196225

UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 – http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=183218

Summary – http://www.shazaml.com/archives/summary-ui-design-interaction-guide-for-windows-phone-7

Windows Phone 7 Application Certification Requirements – http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9730558

Summary – http://www.shazaml.com/archives/summary-of-windows-phone-7-application-certification-requirements

Top 10 Tips for a Successful Marketplace Certification – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jodonnell/archive/2010/10/06/windows-phone-7-top-10-tips-for-a-successful-marketplace-certification.aspx

WP7 Training Course – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/wp7trainingcourse.aspx

Fiddler and the Windows Phone 7 Emulator – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/fiddler/archive/2010/10/15/fiddler-and-the-windows-phone-emulator.aspx

 

 

Presentations

16 MIX10 Videos – http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2010/03/17/videos-of-mix10-windows-phone-sessions.aspx

Silverlight and Windows Phone 7 Performance Tips (SilverlightTV) – http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/SilverlightTV/SIlverlight-TV-47-Silverlight-and-Windows-Phone-7-Performance-Tips

PDC10 – http://player.microsoftpdc.com/

Silverlight Video Resources – http://www.silverlight.net/learn/videos/windows-phone/

 

Open Source  & 3rd Party Tools

Open Source

Silverlight Toolkit (WP7) – http://silverlight.codeplex.com/releases/view/55034

 

Json.NET – http://json.codeplex.com/

High performance ProgressBar – http://www.jeff.wilcox.name/2010/08/performanceprogressbar/

Sterling Isolated Storage Database – http://sterling.codeplex.com/

LowProfileImageLoader – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/delay/archive/2010/09/02/keep-a-low-profile-lowprofileimageloader-helps-the-windows-phone-7-ui-thread-stay-responsive-by-loading-images-in-the-background.aspx

DeferredLoadListBox – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/delay/archive/2010/09/08/never-do-today-what-you-can-put-off-till-tomorrow-deferredloadlistbox-and-stackpanel-help-windows-phone-7-lists-scroll-smoothly-and-consistently.aspx

Windows Phone 7 Design Templates – http://wp7designtemplates.codeplex.com/

Turnstile control – http://turnstile.codeplex.com/

MVVM Light Toolkit – http://mvvmlight.codeplex.com/

Caliburn Micro – http://caliburnmicro.codeplex.com/

 

Fee

Telerik RadControls for Windows Phone – http://www.telerik.com/products/windows-phone.aspx

Perst database – http://www.mcobject.com/june30/2010

 

 

Books

Programming Windows Phone 7 (Charles Petzold) – http://www.charlespetzold.com/phone/

101 Windows Phone 7 Apps, Volume I: Developing Apps 1-50 (Adam Nathan) – pre-order

Tags:
1 Comment »

Free Event: Silverlight Firestarter – 2 Dec 2010

November 12, 2010 in Silverlight

Silverlight Firestarter: The Future of Silverlight Starts Now

Learn what the future holds for Silverlight at this online event.

Register today: http://www.silverlight.net/news/events/firestarter/

Tags: , , , ,
No Comments »

Silverlight Performance Analysis tool – Coming Soon

November 12, 2010 in Silverlight, Windows Phone 7

At PDC10 as part of the keynote, Scott Guthrie showed off the soon-to-be-released Silverlight Performance Analysis tool that would allow developers to profile their Windows Phone 7 applications and identify bottlenecks in frame rate and CPU and relate that back to specific storyboards and even Visual Tree elements.

The below screenshots were taken from the keynote video and you can see the timings at the bottom if you want to watch the video:

image

In addition to debugging on the device, you can profile the app by selecting Silverlight Performance Analysis:

perf1

The device will then be prepared for profiling:

perf2

After running the application, a graphical summary will be created with execution time on the x-axis.  It shows color-coded frame rates (green is good, red is bad) and relates that to CPU-usage and specific Storyboards:

perf3

In the above example, it appears that the first Storyboard might be leading to increased CPU usage and a degraded frame rate.  You can highlight and drill down to see details for a specific time frame (from approx 4.5 to 7.5 seconds into the profiling session):

perf4

The next screen shows CPU and GPU metrics as well as a list of warnings.  The first entry warns about 35 instances of ColorAnimation:

perf5

Scrolling down, you will see an Element Summary:

perf6

Followed by a Frames section with a CPU usage graph:

perf7

And finally the ability to drill down the Visual Tree and see problems highlighted:

perf8

This tool would be very helpful in analyzing app performance on the device.  ScottGu did not give a specific release date for this or any additional tools that might be coming.

Today I saw that there is a Silverlight Firestarter event scheduled for December 2, 2010 and wonder if the tool will be ready to release then. 

image

It would make a great time to announce it.

Tags: , , , , , ,
2 Comments »

7 Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Complaints

November 4, 2010 in Windows Phone 7

Soon many will be experiencing the Windows Phone 7 marketplace as they download apps for their new phones.  Here is a list of 7 complaints about the marketplace:

1. Cannot Search by Keywords

When I submitted the Cousin Calculator app to the marketplace, I was able to enter keywords that would make finding the application easier:

image

But when I search for the app using one of the keywords, the application doesn’t show in the results:

image

Currently it is going to be more difficult to find some apps.

2. Cannot Search for Subgenre

Multiple genres in the marketplace have subgenres, but it is not always easy to remember which subgenre goes with each genre.  If I explore the SHOPPING subgenre under LIFESTYLE, there are currently 27 apps.  If I do a search for “shopping” I only see 6 apps:

image

3. Missing Genres or Subgenres

Compared to iTunes, the marketplace is missing some categories such as:

  • Education
  • Games
    • Arcade
    • Dice
    • Role Playing

So if I am looking for flash cards, the periodic table, or other educational tools and games where in the marketplace should I currently look?

4. Cannot Filter Results Based on Language

Browsing the apps in the marketplace, currently I see applications for languages that I don’t read. The name of the app is in a foreign language and so are the description and screen shots:

 image

 image

I should be able to specify the languages of apps that I want to see in my results.

5. Cannot Sort by Top Rated

You can sort applications by Top selling and Release date and you can see the number of stars for their rating, but you can’t sort by Top rated.

6. Sort by Release Date Doesn’t Group by Date

When browsing the marketplace, if you sort by Release date, the only way to see the release date is to click to see the app details.  It would be nice if the results showed the apps grouped by date.

7. Missing Counts when Browsing Genres

When “window shopping” in the marketplace, it would be nice to see the number of apps in each genre and subgenre.

I am hopeful that we will soon see some of these changes coming to the marketplace.

What issues do you see with the marketplace?

What things do you really like about it?

Tags: , , ,
2 Comments »