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Microsoft discusses Windows Phone 7 Series Development
Daniel Carey
With Microsoft keen to work closely with developers, the dominating theme at MIX’10 is bound to be Windows Phone 7 Series development. With GDC in the upcoming week the conglomerate decided that now would be the best time to release several key tidbits of information. During a reception late this afternoon, Charlie Kindel of Windows Phone’s Developer Experience Team pointed out several key items aimed towards WP7S application development.
Three major points noted by Kindel were the inclusion of Sliverlight, XNA and .NET as the foundation for application development. With portable gaming as a central focus it should come to no surprise that XNA is in play; especially after seeing the current XNA integration with Microsoft’s Zune HD. Coming from the horses’ mouth himself, Kindel stated “If you are a Silverlight or XNA developer today you're gonna be really happy.” Engadget noting that it’s a bit strange especially when you point out the rivalry between Silverlight and Adobe Flash, not to mention that all indications point to Flash not being included at initial launch. Could WP7S’ heavy Silverlight integration be a factor to the lack of flash on initial launch?
As a closing statement the company today announced for the first time that Windows Phone 7 Series represents a clean break for them -- That’s right existing Windows Mobile applications will not be compatible. This will prove to be problematic, especially for those that are currently rooted amongst specialised applications whether it be through their work or the preservation of Microsoft’s current ecosystem. In hindsight this was too be expected, after all WP7S attempts to seek out an entirely new demographic, however, those clinging to Windows Mobile 6.5 are not left entirely in the dark. Charlie Kindel noting that they “will continue to work with our partners to deliver new devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and will support those products for many years to come”
As MIX’10 rolls around in the next two weeks we expect to know more, until then be on the lookout for the developer’s Q&A on Twitter. It's set to begin around 9:00PM ET, however, don’t feel bad if you miss out, as you can use the #wp7dev tag to catch up on missed gossip.
