Windows Phone Gets New Development Tools

Darryl K. Taft,

Microsoft has made an update to the Windows Phone development kit available for download, as it works with Nokia to bolster the platform’s future

Microsoft announced that the Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 update is now available for download.

The Windows Phone SDK 7.1.1 update was made available on 26 March. The tools are the final version of the Community Technology Preview (CTP) Microsoft released last month, and they enable Windows Phone developers to build apps that work well on the new 256MB devices announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

‘New tricks’

The tools also enable developers to build apps on machines running Windows 8.

In a 26 March blog post, Cliff Simpkins, senior product manager for the Windows Phone developer experience at Microsoft, said the SDK does not add much in the way of new features, but “updates the existing install to do a few new tricks”. These include the following:

  • The Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE) is patched to enable selection from a list of emulators, and launching it. (Note that the WPSDK can only support connecting to one at a time, though.)
  • The Windows Phone (512MB device) emulator image is updated to use build 8773.
  • A second, new emulator device image is included, allowing you to emulate running your app on a 256MB device.
  • The Microsoft Advertising SDK is updated to the latest version (previously only available as a separate install), which fixes some issues developers were encountering at runtime.
  • IntelliSense now supports specifying the 512MB device requirement in your manifest file, should you choose to opt your app out from running on the new 256MB devices.
  • Language support is again consistent both in the IDE (the 7.1.1 update supports all 10 of the WPSDK 7.1 languages) and in the emulator OS (Malay and Indonesian have been added).

Meanwhile, in other enterprise mobility news, Microsoft and Nokia announced they will each invest up to 9 million euros (£7.5m) in a newly established mobile application development programme at Aalto University during the next three years.

The project, known as the AppCampus programme, has been set up to foster the creation of innovative mobile applications for the Windows Phone ecosystem, and in addition, Nokia platforms, including Symbian and Series 40, to create a new generation of self-sustaining mobile startups.

The project is part of an effort to drive innovation and business opportunities in Finland’s mobile ecosystem and beyond, the companies said.

AppCampus

Kicking off in May 2012, the Finland-based programme will be led and managed by Aalto University, which has a growing reputation as a hotbed of new startup companies, Nokia officials said.

AppCampus is intended to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Aalto University will make a significant contribution to the project by providing premises, coaching services, and access to both academic and business networks for budding app developers.

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