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Microsoft Starts Talking About the Windows Phone Developer Story

Mar. 4, 2010 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

From Microsoft:

Since Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series at MWC in February, I know you’ve heard a lot of “stay tuned to MIX for more details.” Well here’s a peek at some of those details Microsoft is addressing today. To help set the tone leading into MIX, Microsoft is sharing some important elements for the Windows Phone 7 Series development platform.

First and foremost, let me stress that Microsoft isn’t working alone on this. The company has had hundreds of face-to-face conversations with ISVs over the past year to help ensure that we are delivering a platform that address their core needs. Interestingly, nearly 70% of developers cited “ease of use” as the most important factor in selecting a development environment.

Microsoft is drawing upon the best of the wide array of development technologies and resources across Microsoft in order to achieve our goals. Specifically:

Silverlight. Developers and designers want a separation between design and code, and a lightweight markup language that allows the quick delivery of rich, well performing applications  that can provide experiences on multiple screens. Microsoft Silverlight is a robust, mature, and popular runtime that meets these needs, and our developers have been asking us to bring this to mobile for some time. With Silverlight and Microsoft’s Windows Phone development platform, developers will have effective development tools and platform for creating and deploying high performance, compelling mobile applications.

XNA. Many developers want to expand their portfolio to include 2D and 3D games, but are not equipped to handle the expense of modern game development. XNA give more developers the opportunity to bring games to the phone.

For Microsoft, the cost of going from good to great is a clean break from the past. For example, previous Windows Phone content will not run on Windows Phone 7 Series.

More information is available in this blog post from Charlie Kindle.


Phone comparison: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, WebOS, Windows Phone

Note, too, that Microsoft will be discussing the Windows Phone 7 Series development platform--its components, capabilities and opportunities--in depth at MIX starting March 15. I'll be in Las Vegas for MIX, so expect more info then.

Discuss this Article 28

gfryesc1
on Mar 4, 2010
they have yet to invent the instrument that can measure my complete indifference to this story.
cesjr
on Mar 4, 2010
Why are those icons - sorry "tiles" so frickin huge? Talk about poor use of a small screen.
gavers
on Mar 4, 2010
"Interestingly, nearly 70% of developers cited “ease of use” as the most important factor in selecting a development environment." Interestingly? Microsoft is surprised that developers value easy of use as much as end users do? "For example, previous Windows Phone content will not run on Windows Phone 7 Series." All the more reason not to call it Windows Phone 7. How about a name that also makes a clean break?
Backup77
on Mar 4, 2010
All the more reason not to call it Windows Phone 7. How about a name that also makes a clean break? I could not agree more. The brand needs to be overhauled completely.
anonymous
on Mar 5, 2010
With MIX10 little over a week away, Microsoft starts talking about the new Windows Phone Developer Experience
tayme
on Mar 5, 2010
@gfryesc1 - "they have yet to invent the instrument that can measure my complete indifference to this story." Yet, here you are commenting....I am surprised that you don't lead off with the famous, "first" like all of the other kiddies. Microsoft has a long way to go to break into the consumer market for smart phones. Right now, Apple has a good hold on that and unfortunately Google is starting to get some traction there as well. I hope they surprise a lot of people...competition is good for all of us! --tayme
WebGuy3000
on Mar 5, 2010
"All the more reason not to call it Windows Phone 7. How about a name that also makes a clean break?" I've been thinking this for a while. I think this is a case where Microsoft's fetish for branding everything with the Windows name is not especially helpful. Particularly considering that the new phone interface pointedly eliminates all vestiges of "windows" altogether.
tayme
on Mar 5, 2010
I agree on the naming...but Microsoft has never had much of a knack for naming products...if they follow pattern, they will change it a few times in the first 2 years after the release. --tayme
DRWAM
on Mar 5, 2010
I was assuming that the intent was follow ups version names of the desktop OS would match the mobile OS in numeration, attempting a halo effect from the presumed successful Win 7 brand. WinMo 7 must be very polished and user friendly in order for it to succeed in today's market. It seems ppl want much more in a phone these days, and want it to be a mini computer and media player, but demand quality and integration with their desktop and online services. While the iTunes store has a great advantage, Live services are free, and yield a WinMo advantage. MS now needs to insure a great media experience with WinMo, and apps.
yoshipod
on Mar 5, 2010
Look at the pictures of all those phones next to each. Now think about how phones looked in 2006. Now go back and think about Apple filing that patent infringement suit. The windows phone 7 series seems to be least like the iphone "look and feel". Not sure about the patents themselves, but it seems like only Microsoft took a fresh approach here.
Dipsh t Admin
on Mar 5, 2010
"Not sure about the patents themselves, but it seems like only Microsoft took a fresh approach here." That's an interesting point, and one I've been thinking of. It seems like they wanted to avoid any connotation that they might be copying someone else, particularly Apple. This was the right strategy in my mind. "they have yet to invent the instrument that can measure my complete indifference to" your comment.
DRWAM
on Mar 5, 2010
I wonder what the exact patent protects. Although I agree that it was a good idea by MS to avoid the possibility of a patent dispute [or just desire a new look of their own] by changing the UI to appear different, The button look may be what most users prefer, although it has been on all the prior WinMo versions as well. One can argue that smaller buttons allows more apps per page, and therefore less searching through pages for an app. I guess time will tell if this was a good move, or just one of different possibly appearances by the WinMo phone. Future updates could change it either way.
EricoF3
on Mar 5, 2010
gfryesc1 said: "they have yet to invent the instrument that can measure my complete indifference to this story." gfryesc1!!! We are all indifferent about you... indeed...
Logjamming
on Mar 5, 2010
Too bad Micro$oft is not about competition. They want to run the 100 meter with running shoes, while their competitors should be wearing lead shoes. All Micro$oft is about is monopoly and stuffing stuff you don't want to use down your throat with business gridlock deals. Like with the internet in the 90s and online advertising at the start of the millennium, Micro$oft has no clue what has hit them in the mobile computing industry and only Micro$oft apologists like Mr Selective Argument Paul Thurrot and his sidekick Mike still believe they are a creative software force full of innovation.
Bodypaint
on Mar 5, 2010
@Tayme I agree on the naming...but Microsoft has never had much of a knack for naming products...if they follow pattern, they will change it a few times in the first 2 years after the release. And yet they're the most successful software company in history! I find it amusing how easy it is for unsuccessful people, by comparison to play weekend quarterback in areas they lack experience and expertise. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that MS have invested significant amounts of time and money in brand development exercises, focus groups and advice.. GOOD ADVICE. This product is going to be hugely successful, mark my words on it. Even the CEO of ASUS recognizes that MS are more determined then ever about this vertical.
Bodypaint
on Mar 5, 2010
@logjamming Too bad Micro$oft is not about competition. They want to run the 100 meter with running shoes, while their competitors should be wearing lead shoes. All Micro$oft is about is monopoly and stuffing stuff you don't want to use down your throat with business gridlock deals. Like with the internet in the 90s and online advertising at the start of the millennium, Micro$oft has no clue what has hit them in the mobile computing industry and only Micro$oft apologists like Mr Selective Argument Paul Thurrot and his sidekick Mike still believe they are a creative software force full of innovation. Too bad, sycophants( apple polishers) like you are so selective applying an imagined standard solely on companies you don't like. Apple are worse than any company in history at stifling competition and innovation. But of course, your axe to grind is with MS. On top of that, if apple weren't the inventors of an innovative technology or process, they're quick to immitate it, and publicize themselves as the inventor.. One of the reasons I would never buy apple products aside from inflated pricing and nauseating hype, is people like you.. For once, you and the other boob, gfryesc1 should work on having an original more than pedestrian thought.
EricoF3
on Mar 5, 2010
@Bodypaint : Really Really good comment... All should remember waht this is guys telling...
gavers
on Mar 5, 2010
@Bodypaint: As someone who uses mostly Apple computers, I can tell you that the bulk of Apple's customers aren't the uninformed salivating fanboy that Logjamming appears to be. It's also silly to choose products to buy based on the company's customers. I could choose not buy Microsoft products because their customers are idiots that don't know how to use a computer and have no taste in design. It's not anymore true than saying Apple customers are all rabid fanboys who can't recognize a bad, overpriced or over-hyped product. Apple makes some good products that are worth their price, and they make some real crap too (iPad, AppleTV.) But really none of that has to do with Windows Phone 7. So, to get back on topic, I'm glad to see Microsoft trying to make a better phone as a whole, and not being stuck in the mindset of making yet another iPhone knockoff (or "iPhone killer.") They really should choose a new name that conveys the new thinking and innovation they're striving for. Given the bad press Windows Mobile 6 has gotten, I'd think they'd want to step away from that moniker and push forward a name that really sells the new concept.
Bodypaint
on Mar 5, 2010
@gavers: I thought I was being pretty specific about whom I was throwing that dart at. I didn't say all apple users, just people like that.. I know of many apple/windows users that aren't fanatical about their computer choices.. If they were the norm, I'd probably consider apple products if they were less expensive and far less proprietary. With respect to fanaticism though, it seems to me, that apple have a more vocal/fanatical quotient of fanatics.. I could be wrong though. Cheers
tayme
on Mar 5, 2010
@Bodypaint - You really think that MS has done a good job *naming* products and has not had a history of changing the *name* of said products? I agree that they are the most successful sw company and make some of the most innovative products available, but really - they suck at marketing. Apple, on the other hand could market snowcones to Eskimos and sell millions, even if they were turpentine flavored! --tayme
gavers
on Mar 5, 2010
@Bodypaint: I'll give you the more vocal part. I still wouldn't let the crazies, no matter how many or how vocal they may be sway my purchasing decisions. Just look at all the nitwits who trash Vista. I never had problems with Vista. I could never imagine myself choosing to stick with Windows XP over Vista. Yet there are hundreds of thousands of people, prominent bloggers and journalists alike, who will swear up and down Vista is complete shit.
Bodypaint
on Mar 5, 2010
@tayme: How do we usually measure success with respect to marketing? It's about sales, and MS have sales. Sure they haven't been as successful as they'd like in certain verticals, but Windows mobile isn't one of them. Yes, they've lost some market share, some market awareness and popularity, but MS have still earned a lot of revenue from it and I propose they’ll earn significantly from this new iteration. I know leveraging their existing brand isn’t going to hurt them in this at all it will actually help them immensely. Microsoft have a strong brand across the board and not just because they sell a lot. Their brands are top of mind in many areas: Operating systems (both desktop and server), Office suites, Game consoles, Development Suites, Hardware in some instances. Being in a position to leverage that awareness is something companies aspire to, they dream about reaching, it’s not something you abandon
RunTimeError
on Mar 5, 2010
@ tayme: "I agree on the naming...but Microsoft has never had much of a knack for naming products...if they follow pattern, they will change it a few times in the first 2 years after the release." Windows Phone 7 Series ... Windows Live Phone 7 Series ... MSNBC Windows Live Phone Live 7 Series ... MSNBC Windows Live Zune Bing Phone 7 Series... ;-) Seriously, they should have just called it the "Xphone" and been done with it
DRWAM
on Mar 5, 2010
Gavers, I'm getting sick and tired of you posting my thoughts before I get a chance. Do you have my home bugged? ;) Any way, although MS has the obviously successful OS and Office suite, there is some real innovation on the medical side of their products. I have first hand experience with it and there is a WOW factor that beats every one. Best of all, it's all compatible with WinMo. While it may even lose money, it's wonderful innovational products. ALMALGA comes to mind. As an ATT customer, my wife and I chose their top phone, IMO, the iPhone. However, if I were more in the clinical field of medicine [as most of you know, I'm a radiologist], I would be buying a WinMo phone, then upgrading to WinMo 7 if it was better, because it is more useful to doctors than any other smartphone on the planet. Yes, there are medical apps for the iPhone, but they don't come close to the utility of WinMo phones of today for clinical practitioners in medicine. So for me, I could not care less about a name, as I really care about the utility of the device. But I can agree that there is a stigma to certain brand names, that can blind some consumers.
chuckb84
on Mar 5, 2010
"For Microsoft, the cost of going from good to great is a clean break from the past. For example, previous Windows Phone content will not run on Windows Phone 7 Series." Of course. It's just like the clean break from Plays for Sure to Zune that let the Zune rocket to total dominance in the mp3 player market.....no, wait. Well, THIS time it'll work.
EricoF3
on Mar 5, 2010
tayme said: "they suck at marketing." MS suck at marketing???? you're not kidding... You are joking tayme aren't you?? MS have the most roaded marketing machine in the world.... On which planet do you live?
EricoF3
on Mar 5, 2010
It is true that Microsoft seems to like Buzz words but it just work!!! Because they sell software THEM...
Waethorn
on Mar 5, 2010
"Particularly considering that the new phone interface pointedly eliminates all vestiges of "windows" altogether." I think the idea is that the phone is the "window". Notice the marketing materials where they show the phone showing a small slice of the horizontal UI: http://www.der-s.com/files/blog/windowsphone7people.jpg I'm reminded of another similar saying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtycdRBAbXk

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