Category Archives: Windows 8 Workshop

Nokia Promotions!!!

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Hi all –

Here’s what’s going on in September for Windows Phone developers!

– If you’re an active developer (have published or updated a WP app in the last 6 months), you can enter a drawing for a Lumia 1020, 925 or 928 (your choice)! See
http://richarddunbar.blogspot.com/2013/09/september-lumia-blowout.html for details. Just like last month, being an active developer pays off!

– Have you published a new Windows Phone or Windows 8 app this month? If so, you can enter a monthly sweepstakes to win some cash! Go to http://www.mstechaffiliate.com/members/gregorystoll to enter.

– If you’re in the Austin area, check out the Austin Windows App Developers meetup! It’s run by Ryan Joy, a Microsoft evangelist, and you can sign up here: http://www.meetup.com/Win-App-Devs/

– Speaking of Ryan, he wrote a very useful post about marketing your app after release: it’s at http://ryanjoy.com/2013/08/marketing-101-12-things-to-do-after-you-publish-your-app/

– Nokia just announced a global app-writing competition called Nokia Create – you could win a trip to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona! For details, see http://developer.nokia.com/create/.

– If you’re starting a new app, you should check out Windows Phone App Studio, which lets you get started in a browser! It’s a free tool from Microsoft – here’s a good guide to getting started: http://ryanjoy.com/2013/08/create-a-windows-phone-app-in-20-minutes-with-app-studio/

– Here’s what’s happening in DVLUP:
– There’s a new challenge to update any app for 100 XP! It’s that simple! See
http://blog.dvlup.com/2013/08/30/dont-pass-up-this-opp-update-an-app-and-snap-up-some-xp/
– And if you are planning on updating your app, we’d love it if you would fill out a quick survey – there are a few prizes too! http://blog.dvlup.com/2013/09/10/updating-your-wp-apps-tell-us-your-plans/
– I wrote an article this month about adding ads to your app, and using an in-app purchase to turn them off. It’s at http://gregstoll.livejournal.com/436805.html, and all of my articles are at http://austin.devnokia.com/. I’ve also written a number of Windows Phone apps that you can see at http://gregstoll.dyndns.org/windowsphone/ – if you see anything you’d like to do in an app of yours, drop me a line and I’d be happy to send you some code!

Events:
– I’ll be at the Houston TechFest in September – see http://www.houstontechfest.org/SitePages/Home.aspx for info.

– Battlehack is coming to Austin in September! I’ll be there on day #2 and awarding a prize to the best Windows Phone app. To sign up, see http://battlehack.org/austin/#register

App of the month:
This month’s app is WP Pride by Patrick Campanile, aka Twisty Apps. It’s available at http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=26f50727-aa25-4a97-9a30-27670d088df4 – here’s what Patrick has to say:

WP Pride started out with just seeing some wallpapers a designer made. I loved them, and though, “I have to have a way to change these easily!” so I contacted the designer. He was all for it! I started the app, and then life got busy and it got left as another “project unfinished”. Then I heard about the giveaway you and your tram were doing with the 1020, and knew I had to finish the app to enter the August contest. And I did!

I relied on many articles written by you and others, and, knowing very little C#/XAML, I was still able to finish the app in about a weeks time! Did it have very many features? No. But it was a start. I have since been brainstorming with my designer on new features, and began to take a class in C#. We have many ideas in the pipeline, and are always looking for feature requests! We are working to get an update out with a re-designed layout and some more info on the future of the app.

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As always, let me know if you’ve written any apps and would like to submit them to be considered for App of the Month, or just want to chat about Windows Phone. Email me or hit me up on Twitter at @gregstoll.