Microsoft opens Windows Phone 7 development with beta
updated 04:40 pm EDT, Mon July 12, 2010
MS makes Win Phone 7 dev kit beta available
Microsoft got Windows Phone 7 development started in earnest today with word of the Developer Tools Beta. The kit is the first major update since a preview version in March and reflects a near-final version that should produce apps and games usable with the finished mobile OS. Among the improvements on the coding side are a version of Expression Blend built directly into the kit, a simplified structure, and the ability to unlock phones as well as push test apps directly to those phones.
Most of the missing features are some additional controls over the panorama and pivot display features, which should be merged into the beta in the next few weeks.
The timing is vital for Microsoft, as it's depending on having a fully realized Windows Marketplace to recapture interest in its mobile platform. A fundamentally new architecture has left few if any Windows Mobile 6 apps running on the platform. Windows Phone 7 itself is due to ship before the end of the year and could be ready as soon as early fall, giving enough time for some early apps to arrive. Unlike the earlier OS, Microsoft is now following an Apple-style approval process for apps and may need lead time to greenlight more titles.
