Smiles is a matching-puzzle game developed by London, Ontario-based Mike Kasprzak that you’ll probably see in Windows Phone Marketplace. It’s got the gameplay, graphics, animation, sound and music that you’d expect from a puzzle game, and unlike most puzzle games with falling objects, rotating the phone changes the direction in which the pieces fall (this can get you out of a tight spot). This video shows Mike playing Smiles on a Samsung “Taylor” prototype Windows Phone 7 device that we loaned him so he could properly test it.
Mike got the opportunity to deploy his app to a real live Windows Phone (hard to come by – you could cut off both your pinkies and still have enough fingers and toes to count all the Windows Phones we have) and the opportunity to show off his app at the Windows Phone 7 blogger night in Toronto and here on this blog because he contacted me. If you’ve got a Windows Phone 7 app that’s done or nearly done, Drop me a line before October 18th and let’s see what we can do to make you a mobile app rock star!
Last month, we held a little party where we invited Toronto-area tech press and bloggers to meet some local Windows Phone 7 developers and see what they were working on. This video was shot at the party and features Yours Truly and the developers:
The developers featured in this video are:
Mark Arteaga: Owner/developer at Redbit Development. He’s been building Microsoft-based phone applications since the Windows Mobile days, and he’s got some pretty interesting apps lined up for some pretty interesting customers – I’m sure you’ll see them soon. You may have seen him (or you will see him, depending on when you’re attending) at TechDays, where he’s doing a two–part series of sessions on WP7 development with Silverlight.
Mike Kasprzak: Owner/developer at Sykhronics and the guy behind Smiles, a very charming, very addictive puzzle game.
Alexey Adamsky: Based in Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone and working with Alex Yakobovich, he developed a 3-D version of Sudoku. If you thought Sudoku was a lot of work in two dimensions…
We’re very happy to showcase the work of Canadian developers building Windows Phone apps. Want to join the ranks of the developers in the video? Got a Windows Phone 7 app that’s done or nearly done? Want to get a head start on everyone else trying to submit an app to Windows Phone Marketplace? Drop me – Joey deVilla – a line before Monday, October 18th!
Are you a Canadian developer working on a Windows Phone 7 app that’s done or nearly done? We want to help you get a head start on everyone else. Contact me – Joey deVilla – by Monday, October 18th (and sooner is better) and let’s see what we can do to make your app one of the first in Windows Phone Marketplace!
Just a reminder: there are a couple of Coffee and Codes this week…
Ottawa: Join developer/trainer Colin Melia and IT Pro Evangelist/destroyer-of-technology Rick Claus as they set up office on Thursday, October 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Bridgehead Coffee House at 109 Bank Street (at Albert). They’ll have some WP7 devices that you can deploy apps to, and you can ask them questions about Windows Phone 7. Colin will field the developer questions while Rick will handle your “How does this fit into the enterprise?” inquiries.
Toronto: Join yours truly, Joey deVilla, at the Starbucks at King and Yonge, where I’ll be on Thursday, October 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. I’ll have a WP7 device you can deploy apps to, and if you’re working on an app and think you have have it done by Monday the 18th, you will really want to drop by and talk to me!
Come on down, see a real live Windows Phone up close and personal and deploy your apps to it!
You’re building apps for Windows Phone 7. You’ve tested them as much as you can on the emulator. You now need to test them on a real device. We can help!
Getting your hands on a Windows Phone is a very hard thing to do. Even those of us who work inside the company are having trouble getting our hands on them because there just aren’t enough advance devices to go around. We have a small pool of phones and a big number of people who need to test their apps on them, so we’ve had to get creative in order to help people test.
First, there’s Coffee and Code. Coffee and Code has traditionally been an event where we take advantage of our mobile worker status and work out of a café, where we’re easily accessible. Lately, we’ve been using them as a chance for you to drop by, impromptu, take a look at our Windows Phones and even deploy apps to them for some quick testing. These are pretty informal, with no appointment required, and first-come-first-serve.
Then, there are the Deployment Clinics. These are a little more structured – you book an appointment to drop by one of Microsoft Canada’s offices and spend some quality just-you-and-your-app time with a Windows Phone. You have to book time in advance, and you have the phone all to yourself for the appointment.
Take advantage of these opportunities to test your WP7 apps on a real phone!
Here’s the schedule for the upcoming Coffee and Code and Deployment Clinics:
What
When
Where
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, October 14 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ottawa Bridgehead Coffee 109 Bank Street (at Albert)
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, October 14 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Downtown Toronto Starbucks at King and Yonge
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Friday, October 15
Downtown Toronto Microsoft office Ernst & Young Tower, TD Centre, 12th floor
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, October 21 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Downtown Toronto Starbucks at King and Yonge
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Monday, October 25
Mississauga Microsoft Office 1950 Meadowvale Blvd (Off Mississauga Road, just north of Highway 401)
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Wednesday, October 27
Vancouver Microsoft Office 1111 W. Georgia, 11th floor
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Friday, October 29 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Downtown Toronto Timothy’s 255 Front Street West
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, November 4 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Halifax Location TBD
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, November 11 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Ottawa Location TBD
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Friday, November 12
Montreal Microsoft Office 2000 Ave McGill College, 4th floor
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, November 18 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Downtown Toronto Starbucks at King and Yonge
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Friday, November 19 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Montreal Microsoft Office 2000 Ave McGill College, 4th floor
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, November 25 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Montreal Location TBD
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Monday, November 29
Ottawa Microsoft Office World Exchange Plaza (100 Queen Street), 5th floor
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Wednesday, December 1
Calgary Microsoft Office Atlus Centre (500 – 4th Ave. SW), 19th floor
Coffee and Code (Drop in)
Thursday, December 2 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Downtown Toronto Starbucks at King and Yonge
Deployment Clinic (Book an appointment)
Friday, December 3
Calgary Microsoft Office Altius Centre (500 – 4th Ave. SW), 19th floor
Rather than tell you how great-looking and clever the new ads for Windows Phone 7 are, I thought I’d show them instead. Here’s the first one, which features Donovan’s song, Season of the Witch:
The message in both these ads is pretty simple: Smartphones eat up a lot of your attention and time. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one that didn’t do that?
There are lots of little goodies in Windows Phone 7 that address this issue. The ones I can think of off the top of my head include:
The lock screen. You don’t have to unlock your phone just to find out what the next appointment on your calendar is. The lock screen displays it, along with the date, time and the number of voice and text messages you have.
The Start page. The start page is where you pin your favourite and often-used items so you can access them quickly, so you don’t have to riffle through page after page of apps.
What you can pin to the Start page. You can pin more than just apps to the Start page. Is there someone – a spouse, significant other, friend or family member – whom you phone, text, or email often? Pin that person to the Start page! Is there a website you hit many times a day? Pin it to the Start page!
Communicating quickly with people. The People Hub on your phone makes looking up and reaching people fast and easy. Tap on a person for all the ways to reach him or her and tap on any of one of those ways to start communicating. A quick swipe shows you that person’s Facebook updates. Getting in touch and keeping up is pretty easy with this UI.
Finding. The context-sensitive Search button is all about finding what you need, whether it’s some information on your phone, on the web or in the real world, and you get this all from a single button press.
In all these cases, it’s about getting what you need from the phone, as quickly as possible.You should ideally be able to “glance and go”: fire up your phone, get the information you need, then put it away and go do what you set out to do. The phone is supposed to augment your life; it’s not supposed to be your life.
And therein lies the hint for your app designs. If you’re designing an informational, non-game app for Windows Phone 7, take a cue from its “glance and go” philosophy and ask yourself this: What one question does my app answer for the user, and does it answer this question quickly?
Examples of questions that apps can answer include:
Am I getting a good deal from this store, or should I be shopping elsewhere?
Given a choice of three different wines, which one should I buy?
What interesting stuff is happening in this city tonight?
If you’re thinking of building a WP7 app, think of a question it can answer for the user, provide the answer and then get out of the way. Let that be your guide and you just might code up a winner.
It’s Canadian Thanksgiving today, which means it’s a day off here, but it’s a regular working day for our American neighbours, and it’s the day that a lot of big announcements about Windows Phone 7 get made at an event in New York City.
As Mary Jo Foley points out in her article on today’s event, today is about announcements and not about phones hitting shelves, but the day when you can go buy a WP7 phone isn’t far off. You’ll find out more about the phone today starting at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and I believe a lot of your questions will be answered. (And if you have questions, you can always ask us, either here on the blog or in person at the various TechDays, Coffee and Codes or other opportunities to have a face-to-face chat with us.)
I think you’ll find that Windows Phone represents a tremendous opportunity for phone app developers and designers. Consider that:
It’s early in the game. The phone app market for WP7 is a new one, and it’s your chance to make your mark and shape the app market with your ideas, designs and coding skills.
You’re working with great developer tools. Even the most die-hard fanboys of the Esteemed Competition grudgingly acknowledge that Visual Studio is a great IDE. Combined with Expression Blend, you’ve got a killer combo for developing, designing and debugging phone apps.
It’s not just great developer tools, but great frameworks. First, there’s the .NET framework, which gives you a big library with loads of built-in functionality. Then there’s the fact that you have not just one, but two app frameworks! You have Silverlight, for more “application”-like app development with controls and an event-driven model, and XNA for game development with its game loop programming model.
Here’s something that we need to point out: You are important. As developers, you shouldn’t feel like pseudo-competitors who are barely tolerated by the people behind the phone platform. You should feel like a key part of Windows Phone 7, because you are! WP7 doesn’t happen without you. Your creativity, hard work and passion as app developers is as much a feature as anything else that goes into WP7. What you do is our best feature!
Keep an eye on the announcements coming out today, and if you have any questions, ask away in the comments!
