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Summary of Windows Phone 7 Application Certification Requirements

July 28, 2010 in Windows Phone 7

 

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Updated for Version 1.3 released September 2010.

After going through the Windows Phone 7 Application Certification Requirements document, I created this summary of the main points for quicker reference than the 27 pages of the September 2010, version 1.3 document.

Size:

· Over the air install up to 20MB;

· disclose additional data package if greater than 50MB;

· max XAP size 400MB;

Images:

Description Pixels File Type Required Location
Application Icon 62 x 62 PNG Required XAP
Application Tile Image 173 x 173 PNG Required XAP
Device application icon 99 x 99 small173 x 173 large PNG, 262 dpi Required Marketplace catalog
Desktop application icon 200 x 200 PNG, 262 dpi Required Marketplace catalog
Panoramic background art 1000 x 800 PNG, 262 dpi Optional Marketplace
Screenshot 480 x 800 PNG 1-8 Required Marketplace catalog

Performance:

· First screen render within 5 seconds (use splash screen)

· Responsive to user input within 20 seconds

Prompt User:

· Chat, instant messaging, or other person-to-person communication applications that all creation of accounts via phone device, must verify that user is at least 13 years old

· “Opt-in” consent for publishing personal information to any service or other person

· “Opt-in” consent for push notifications

· User-friendly error message on exception

· Visual progress bar with cancel option for time consuming activities

· Back button in games to present in-game pause menu or main menu with resume option

· Message if Location Service turned off in a location-aware application

· Explicit permission on first use of toast or tile notification

· Explicit permission on first run of application under a locked screen

· Apps that play their own background music must ask before stopping or adjusting music playback from Music + Video Hub

Settings screen:

· Enable/disable toast notification

· Enable/disable tile notification

· Enable/disable application from running under a locked screen

· Use/Override music from Music + Video hub

· Control own background music/adjust hub music (ex: volume)

Restrictions:

· May not require the user to pay outside of Windows Phone Marketplace to activate, unlock, upgrade, or extend usage of the application

· May not sell, link to, or promote mobile plans

· May not consist of, distribute, link to, or incent users to download, or otherwise promote alternate marketplaces for applications and/or games

· Must not jeopardize the security or functionality of phone devices or Marketplace

· Advertising must comply with http://advertising.microsoft.com/creative-specs

· Apps that allow purchase of music content must include Windows Phone music Marketplace as an option.

· For music not purchased through Windows Phone music Marketplace, app must include its own playback

· Content restrictions include: licensed, copyrighted, illegal, obscene, indecent, violent, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, threatening, hate speech, discriminatory, adult-related, promotes illegal activities, excessive alcohol, tobacco, weapons, drugs, violence, profanity

· PInvoke, COM interoperability, debug symbols, reflection were it affects phone capabilities, uncaught exceptions

· Must not include viruses, malware, or malicious software

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Windows Phone 7 Presentation at Desert Code Camp 2010

May 17, 2010 in Silverlight, Windows Phone 7

Last Saturday I presented at my second Desert Code Camp.  The presentation PowerPoint and code for “Windows Phone 7 Silverlight MVVM App the Test-Driven Way” is now available.

Windows Phone 7 Silverlight MVVM App the Test-Driven
View more presentations from Mark Tucker.

The code consists of two phone projects.  If you run the first, you will get the application UI. Running the second will bring up the test viewer.

Get the code here.

NOTE:

I told those attending the session that a video of the presentation would be available.  But due to an issue with Camtasia Studio, the video was not recorded.

Thanks again to all those who attended the presentation.  Let me know about the COOL apps you write for WP7.

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Dell’s Flash, Thunder & Lightning: What do the buttons reveal?

April 22, 2010 in Design, Windows Phone 7

In a previous post, The 3 Buttons of Windows Phone 7 Series, I talked about the 3 required buttons at the bottom of every Windows Phone 7 device: Back, Windows, and Search.

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Now there are rumor leaks of new Dell phones: Flash, Thunder & Lightning. But what do their buttons reveal?

According to Engadget and pocketnow.com, the Dell Flash will run the Android Froyo OS. The posted image shows 3 buttons that might be similar in functionality to the 3 Windows Phone 7 buttons:

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Another phone leaked to run the Android OS is the Thunder and its buttons match the icons on the Flash:

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The Lightning icons more closely match what you might expect on a Windows Phone 7 namely the Windows button and the Search button:

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It is interesting that the 2 Android phones have 3-button designs. The first appears to be a Back button and the second a Home button. On the Windows Phone 7, the third button is Search which will bring up Bing. The Android phones’ third button appears to be a Menu button although some could argue that it represents search results.

Why has Dell chosen to have 3-button designs on phones for two different operating systems that mostly do the same thing?  I wonder how Microsoft feels about this dual usage of the 3-button design?

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Windows Phone 7 UI Templates

March 19, 2010 in Design, Windows Phone 7

Even before attending MIX10, I started thinking about applications that I could write for the Windows Phone 7 Series.  I couldn’t wait to start sketching out user interfaces and thinking about the experiences that the people using those applications would have.  What was missing to make this easier was design templates.

Windows Phone 7 introduces concepts such as live tiles, an application bar with buttons and menus, and panoramic applications.  The UI templates should take those things into account as well as the WVGA display that can show 800×480 pixels in either portrait or landscape orientation:

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When an application is pinned to the Start screen, the application tile is shown:

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Applications can receive notifications to let the user know of important updates even when the application is not running.  One type is the tile notification which can update a pinned tile with a background image, text, and a counter:

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An application can choose to include an Application Bar which appears at the bottom of the screen in portrait orientation and vertically on the side when in landscape.  The Application Bar should be limited to a few important buttons that can easily be represented by images.  Other actions should be put in the menu.  The Windows Phone Development Programming Guide encourages the use of no more than 5 menu items as it will force the user to scroll:

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One type of application that can be developed for the Windows Phone 7 is a Panorama application which spreads the UI across multiple screens with a slight overlap to tease the users on to the next screen:

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When creating the 5 UI templates for Windows Phone 7, I made sure the above concepts were included.

The first two templates include a WVGA screen inside a phone device chrome.  When printed the phone image is roughly the size of an iPhone or Nexus One.  The template includes two tiles to be used for the application tile and the updated tile based on notification.  Three Application Bar images have been included for 2, 3, or 4 buttons.  As well as a place to write up to 5 menu items.

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The next two templates display 6 screens per page in either portrait or landscape orientation:

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The final template is for Panorama applications and allows for 5 portrait screens side by side with a slight overlap.  The template uses alternating red & blue borders to show each screen’s full width.  The two grid spaces between red & blue lines is the tease overlap for the next screen:

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The templates are available for download as a PowerPoint file.

Have you already started designing Winodws Phone 7 Series applications?  Do you find these templates useful?  What changes would you like to see in these templates?  Would you be willing to share some of your designs with others?

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Windows Phone 7 Questions I Want Answered at MIX10

March 8, 2010 in Windows Phone 7

There are a few things we know already about Windows Phone 7 Series, but many questions will need to wait for the MIX10 conference next week.  We know that the phone will be released for the holidays, that its UI contains multiple hubs, that custom app development can be done using XNA or Silverlight in Visual Studio 10, and that this fits in with the 3 screens and a cloud story.

But there are other questions that hopefully will be answered at MIX:

  1. Is there a more specific release date?  November 2010?
  2. Will I be able to do Silverlight development for Xune HD and XBox360?
  3. Will there be changes in Windows Azure pricing to match Phone + Cloud consumer apps?
  4. Will a WP7 Simulator be released?  Will it work in VS10, Expression Blend, or both?
  5. Are there updates to SketchFlow for sketching WP7 apps?
  6. What is the debugging experience for WP7 apps?
  7. WP7 hubs allow content to span multiple “screen” widths on one large panel.  Will this be possible in custom apps or is it limited to hubs?
  8. How can I integrate my content into existing hubs?
  9. What .NET Framework features will be available for WP7 and what is missing?  For example, would MEF even make sense for WP7?
  10. When will the marketplace be available to upload custom apps and what will the process be?
  11. As an attendee, will I get special pricing when WP7 devices are available or a free Zune HD to use for development?

What questions about Windows Phone 7 do you want answered at MIX? What sessions are you planning on attending? If you are not going to MIX, which session videos will you watch first?

 

Here are the answers to the above questions:

  1. No specific release date other than Holiday 2010
  2. Currently Silverlight development is not available for XBox 360, but that is likely for the future.  No mention of Xune HD supporting Silverlight.
  3. A representative at the Windows Azure booth said that many people are asking this question and that they are “listening”.  Not sure what that means as far as a price change.
  4. Windows Phone emulator is released and it works with VS 2010 Express for Windows Phone (free), VS 2010, and Expression Blend 4.
  5. No updates to SketchFlow yet to support WP7 controls or panoramic applications.  Not sure when support is coming.
  6. I know you can debug in the emulator, but I didn’t get an answer for debugging on a device.
  7. Panoramic applications will be supported.  A demo was shown at the MIX10 first day keynote.
  8. There a limited content extensibility points for hubs, but some custom content will be possible.
  9. My understanding is that the features available for WP7 is a Silverlight version between 3 and 4.  In other words not all of Silverlight 4 functionality will make it into WP7.  I heard that there is working to get MEF assemblies working on the Windows Phone.
  10. There was an entire talk at MIX10 about the marketplace.  The current Windows Phone marketplace will be used but by May there should be more information specifically about Windows Phone 7.  To submit applications to the marketplace, you need to pay $99 a year.  It should take about 5 business days for a submitted application to appear for sale in the marketplace.
  11. No hardware was available with no roadmap to when development devices would be available or it there would be discouts for MIX attendees.

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The 3 Buttons of Windows Phone 7 Series

February 27, 2010 in Windows Phone 7

I was able to catch The Engadget Show Live! today where Aaron Woodman showed off Windows Phone 7 Series.  The amount of information about the phone and its hardware and software is just trickling out at this point.  Many questions are being answered with three words: “Go to MIX”.  One thing that has been announced is that Microsoft will have more influence over the hardware for this phone across the various vendors.  From what I can tell, all phones must support 3 buttons: Windows, Back, and Search.

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Read the rest of this entry →

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