Datasheet

to create cross-platform games as long as the XNA run time runs on those platforms. You
can perform XNA-based development for WP7 using C# and XNA Game Studio Express,
a free tool provided by Microsoft.
Development Tools: Microsoft provides Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and
Expression Blend for WP7 application development free of charge. Developers can use the
built-in emulator in Visual Studio 2010 Express to debug and test an application. A Zune
client is required on the desktop when you want to develop applications using a device.
Windows Phone Marketplace
Microsoft provides a Windows Phone Marketplace for obtaining WP7 applications, which is similar
to the iPhone and Android offerings. Any third-party applications must pass the Marketplace
certifi cation before Microsoft will publish them in the Marketplace store. The user is able to browse
store applications with the Marketplace application on the device, download free applications, or
purchase paid applications. Unlike Windows Mobile 6.x, application side-loading on a retail device
isn’t allowed offi cially.
Mobile developers who want to create and publish WP7 applications and Xbox LIVE applications
must register at
http://create.msdn.com/ to obtain a Marketplace developer account. The
registration fee is US$99. When a developer is ready to submit an application for certifi cation,
Microsoft validates the application’s Silverlight Application Package (XAP, pronounced “zap”) against
published application content guidelines. If the XAP validation succeeds, Microsoft tests the application
on a real device both automatically and manually to ensure it meets stability and performance policies.
When all the tests are passed, the application is signed with the developer’s certifi cate (assigned by
Microsoft to the developer during Marketplace registration) and is ready for public release in the
Marketplace store.
Limitations and Road Map
WP7 is a new mobile operating system that is different in many aspects from previous Microsoft
Windows Mobile releases. Essentially this is a version-one product representing Microsoft’s new
thrust into the mobile space. Needless to say, being a version-one product implies limitations
and work-in-progress to the computing world. WP7 is no exception. Some of the most frequently
mentioned limitations of WP7 are described in the following:
Copy and paste: This feature appears in previous Windows Mobile releases but is missing
in the fi rst release of WP7, and has been provided in a WP7 update release in March 2011.
Note that iOS does not offer copy and paste until iOS 3.0. Android’s full support for copy
and paste starts with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Multi-tasking for third-party applications: While system services such as music playback and
FM radio will continue to work in the background, third-party applications cannot. This is
similar to the fi rst version of iPhone. On Android, developers have the fl exibility to build a
service. On WP7, developers cannot create a service, and thus multi-tasking is not possible
for third-party applications. It’s possible that Microsoft will enable multi-tasking of a selected
set of tasks, such as music playback, VoIP, and GPS, for third-party applications in a future
version. However, it’s unlikely that it will provide a way to write a service on WP7.
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An Overview of Windows Phone 7
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