Town Hall Style, Windows 8 Development Shoot or Aim?

Had the first meeting of the year last night for the Orlando Windows Phone / Windows 8 Group and instead of going down the planned presenter lead meeting format it turned more into a "Town Hall" style with some good topics I thought I'd share.

Where does everyone go to learn how to build or develop for Windows 8.1?

As anyone who can use the web, you w ill find a number of popular blogs that have articles written on how to get started using this or that, including my own, but how relevant are they considering how fast Windows 8 development is moving and changing for that matter.  One attendee mentioned the LayoutAwarePage and how it was a thing and now its "just there".  Or how there were only 3 views to deal with and now there are many.

Brian, from the Orlando .NET User Group, likes Microsoft's Virtual Academy and also stated that when looking at blogs the first piece of information is the date the article was posted to know whether or not to keep going.

Pluralsight.com is also another very well known resource for getting up to speed on almost any technology, and their catalog grows daily.

Monetization strategies for apps?

Of course, a very common topic.  How the heck do you make money on your apps?  Charge for them, ads, in app purchases, both, so on and so forth.  There has been a lot of conversation around this topic and sure enough the recent Flappy Bird app incident has everyone in a swirl to find the next big one.

Alex Perez, from Neuralnet, gave some insight into their experience on in app purchases how they attacked the issue.  Free with in app purchases was the most successful way, BUT you have to hook your users and make them want to keep coming back to the app is the key.

I don't this is a big secret, the secret is finding the hook -- right?

Should I build apps for Windows 8.1 now or wait to see what happens after BUILD 2014?

When Windows 8 hit the development community, a lot of the .NET community hit it learning the tools the new stuff throwing apps, blogging it etc. Some even went at the HTML/WinJS framework option reusing the libraries that were available building RSS readers, games, etc.

Then 8.1 hit and the game was changed. Tools got better, controls were added, more views, the OS was smaller, better, faster. Question on the floor - shoot or just aim?  

Strategies for sharing code?

I love the MVVM pattern for mobile development - Windows Phone, Windows 8.* and anything Xamarin supports.  With Portable Class Libraries and the lifted license restrictions and full support through Xamarin there is no reason not use it.  BUT, do not get caught in hours of trying to force something into the pattern simply to put it into the pattern.  Get the product out there, and rev. Refactor and release often.

Apps or Web?

It just depends right? What is the target audience, the device support, does it need connectivity, what is the skill set of the team you have and so on.  There is no right answer. The answer is -> know what questions to ask.

All great discussions, really enjoyed the format.  What are your thoughts on any or all of these issues, and have you tried this format at your local user group? Would you?

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Custom URIs added to I'm Here App

I took a few moments to add custom URI launchers for my I'm Here app on Windows Phone so it could be used in Rob Irving's Car Dash app.  It was a really quick add to the app, however the one are I found to be a pain was testing it.  I actually had to write another phone app to test it. Not that it was a chore, just didn't consider that when I started, I made an assumption I could've just typed i the URI in Internet Explorer or mocked an SMS message like you can in iOS.

If you have a Windows Phone App that offers functionality that other apps can use there is no reason not to offer custom launchers.  It takes about an hour total development time, and the benefit can more than just adding the functionality.

In my case, one I learned how to do it. Two, I get free marketing from another very successful app. Make sure you document your URI on the Nokia page here to let every other developer know for extra exposure. And finally, made a nice connection in the developer community.  Who knows, maybe the next big thing will happen when Rob and I team up...

If you want to use I'm Here in your app here is the simple launcher URI code to do so.

// launch the app
await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(new Uri("imhere:"));
// launch the app and share location via SMS

await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(new Uri("imhere://share/text"));
// launch the app and share location via Email

await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(new Uri("imhere://share/email"));
// launch the app and share location via Social Apps

await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(new Uri("imhere://share/social"));

// launch the app and share location via WhatsApp application
await Windows.System.Launcher.LaunchUriAsync(new Uri("imhere://share/whatsapp"));

Be sure to checkout my apps and the other links below to take advantage of the custom URIs in you own apps.

Rob Irving on Twitter
Nokia URI Association Schemes List
URI associations for Windows Phone - How To
Reserved file and URI associations for Windows Phone 8

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Microsoft MVP - ASP.NET

This year started off with a nice surprise, an email with the subject "Congratulations 2014 Microsoft MVP!"

I am humbled and excited, as this is the first time for me, and as always to be a part of such a great community. I enjoy the time I spend at community events, speaking to other developers and hearing their challenges, ideas and what great projects they are working on.

ASP.NET is the category of my award, and although most know me for some the Windows Phone work I have done; Web API, MVC, and JavaScript/TypeScript is where I have spent a majority of my time. Mobile is as much about the back end services as it is about the front end.

2014 is going to be another great year.  I am already putting together my speaking schedule, working on new material and projects and can't wait to see the new stuff from the other new and renewed MVPs.

Thanks to all of my supporters in the community! Especially those in Florida who I get to see on a regular basis.

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Being a successful mobile developer - Windows Phone, Marketing & Xamarin

Why Windows Phone?

This is not a new question, but a question or topic that I get involved a lot.  Why do you have a Windows Phone? Why do you build apps for that platform? You should be learning Java and Objective C and putting your apps on iOS and Android; that's where the users are.

That is the message from the media, family, tech pundits and co-workers. And the numbers say that as well; the latest report shows that Android holds a ridiculous global market share of 80%, Apple with 12% and Windows Phone at 4% respectively.  So why should I build an app for Windows Phone first?

Its about visibility.

Visibility

Apple has more than 1 million apps on the iOS platform and Android just over 800,000. It is virtually impossible without spending an enormous amount of time, money and or energy getting an app exposure to the user base.  However, through programs like Nokia's DVLUP you can manage to get very visibility in the marketplace, increased reviews and downloads and through the combination of all of these. Revenue will begin to climb. Now, there is some learning to be done by the developer when it comes to monetizing your app; I won't go into the various strategies as there have been many workshops/articles/blogs published so definitely look into those.

Building a Brand / Marketing

Build it and they will come is not a marketing campaign strategy! I'm pretty involved in the community and talk with a lot of developers, read quite a few email and message board threads about how they have a new app for this or that...please review, download etc.  But that is the last place I see it ever mentioned.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Build a Facebook Fan Page - it's free
• Azure Websites - every subscriber gets 10 free site, build one for your app
• Blog about the technology you used in your app, why you chose to do it. 
• Contact Media outlets about your app - wpcentral.com, wmpoweruser.com
• Use social media to your advantage - twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram (yes) & learn what a hashtag (#) is and use those to your advantage. If you don't know ask a teenager.

Design

Now none of the above will matter if your app is a battleship grey page with black comic sans font. Spend some time on design.  Now I know, not all developers are good designers. Guess what? Not all designers are good developers.  Find a friend who knows Photoshop, team up! There is this really cool online collaboration tool - Team Foundation Service that's free for up to 5 users, collaborate on a project and make it happen.

Build with Other Platforms in Mind - Xamarin

Now that you have a great idea, either put together a great design or found a friend & have a marketing strategy.  Build your app with the correct tools and architecture so when you have Android and iOS users wanting it, you can respond in a reasonable amount of time.

Xamarin and Microsoft have teamed up to bring a closer integration in Visual Studio 2013 to allow you to create native iOS and Android applications (not HTML5 & JavaScript) using C# and Portable Class Libraries. Thus maximizing your code reuse.

Microsoft also just announce full Azure Mobile Services support for Xamarin.

I will be blogging more examples, in the meantime visit www.xamarin.com and follow @xamarinhq & @jamesmontemagno (Xamarin Developer Evangelist) on twitter.

Please feel free to contact me via twitter @spboyer concerning xamarin, portable class libraries, windows phone development, windows 8 development or anything.

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Presenting Azure Mobile Services @ DVLUP Day Tampa 11/16/2013

Nokia, through its DVLUP program, is putting on DVLUP day in various cities from Nov. 16 - Dec 6.  I'll be in Tampa on the 16th of November presenting Azure Mobile Services.

I'll give an overview of:

• Getting Started
• Push Notifications
• Visual Studio 2013 Tools for Azure
• General Q & A

I will also be around all day if you have any questions about Portable Class Libraries or Advanced features of Azure Mobile Services such as complex data types, authentication, etc.

Event Summary

Spend a day with two of our top Nokia Developer Ambassadors, Bill Reiss (@billreiss) and Atley Hunter (@atleyhunter). Together, Bill and Atley will guide you through the process of publishing your apps to the Windows Phone Store - either from scratch, or porting from iOS or Android.

Whether you’re a first-time developer, or a seasoned pro who wants to know more about Windows Phone, this event is for you.

If you are in the Tampa Area, there is still space so sign up! There are other dates and locations available and they can be found on the DVLUP site (http://www.dvlup.com/Events/138).

You will need to have your DVLUP account ID. If you haven’t signed up already, sign up today at  www.dvlup.com

 To win a device you need to complete one of these DVLUP challenges:

http://www.dvlup.com/Challenge/32

http://www.dvlup.com/Challenge/125

Your app must be published within 14 days of your event to win.

If you are attending, be sure to tweet and use the hashtag #DVLUPday #tampa and follow @dvlup

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