Silverlight for Mobile Reaches Cross-Platform
The new Windows Phone development platform, which is based on Silverlight/.NET Compact Framework and XNA Framework for games, is the hot topic at this week's MIX10 conference in Las Vegas.
In all the excitement, people might have missed an interesting but critical side-note from the Microsoft India Development Center. The Microsoft team in India released a public Silverlight for Symbian beta on Monday for building apps that run on Nokia S60 5th Edition devices. Developers can create these apps using Expression Blend 2 (free trial version), Visual Web Developer 2008 Express with SP1 or VS2008 SP1 with the Silverlight tools add-in.
The Silverlight for Symbian team explained the significance of the new technology on an India Development Center blog:
"With this release, we have come one more step closer to bringing Silverlight to the Symbian platform that holds single largest market share in the Smartphone market and hence extend Silverlight reach to mobile devices. While Microsoft has done cross-platform work for Silverlight on the desktop, this is the first time Silverlight cross-platform work has been achieved on a non-Microsoft mobile platform."
Silverlight for Mobile, which will enable users to view Silverlight apps in mobile Web browsers on non-Microsoft platforms may be the real gamechanger for developers.
At the same time, the Windows Phone 7 Series represents the rebirth of the company's mobile platform and so far, Microsoft has our interest.
Last week, we wondered how closely aligned Silverlight for WP7 is with Silverlight 4? Silverlight for Mobile is full-fledged Silverlight, said Scott Guthrie, Microsoft corporate VP of the Developer Division, during the opening keynote at MIX.
Maybe that explains why Microsoft released the Silverlight 4 RC at MIX, instead of Silverlight 4 RTM. In November at PDC, Guthrie indicated that the SL4 beta was the only public test build planned before the final version, which was scheduled to be released in the first half of this year. Microsoft will make that date. The technology is expected to RTM next month, according to Guthrie.
Developing Windows Phone apps in Visual Studio 2010 and Expression Blend 4 –- the beta was released this week-- looked fairly straightforward at MIX, but how hard can it be, especially during a keynote? Developers can download training kits or take in a few of the 12 technical sessions at MIX, which will be posted online within 24 hours.
Microsoft professional developers will also finally get something for nothing. The Windows Phone Developer Tools are free! And they will remain free--even after the CTPs, which are available now--for all Windows Phone developers, according to Guthrie.
MIX10 attendees who made the trek to Mandalay Bay didn't get free Windows Phone 7 Series devices, however. Maybe it's too early, but that type of giveaway would definitely push some Silverlight app developers off the wait-and-see if there's a market fence.
Express your thoughts on the new Windows Phone application platform and Silverlight for Mobile. Will you develop WP7 apps or is Silverlight for Mobile cross-platform the real incentive for Silverlight developers? Drop me a line at krichards@1105media.com.
Posted by Kathleen Richards on 03/16/2010 at 6:17 PM