[Windows Phone 7 Software Development] fiinix:
Yay! As from mailed by: "wmcomm@e-mail.microsoft.com" (dev)

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New Windows Phone Dev Tools for the next version of Windows Phone Available in May

Earlier this month at MIX we announced that we will release in May a new set of Windows Phone Developer Tools for the next version of Windows Phone. Developers can use the new tools to create the next-generation of Windows Phone apps and games, which will be faster, more capable, and more deeply integrated with the next version of Windows Phone.

The next version of Windows Phone will be available to consumers later this year and will introduce many features, such as multitasking, the best mobile Web experience with IE9 and HTML 5, support of real time communication and messaging, twitter integration with the People Hub, and a broader connectivity to Skydrive.

The new Developer Tools will allow you to write apps that make full use of multitasking via fast application switching and background agents; runtime and framework enhancements with over 1,500 new APIs and the support of Silverlight 4, access to new sensors, on-device SQL CE database, and Phone Contacts and Calendar stores; socket support to enable networking communication beyond HTTP; XNA/Silverlight Integration; and an improved Push Notification and Live Tile experience. The new Developer Tools will also include a new emulator will full support for accelerometer and GPS location data.

We are very excited about the opportunities the new release will create for developers, and we look forward to the next wave of innovation in apps and games.

For more details on the new features supported by the next version of Windows Phone and the new Developer Tools check out the MIX Webcasts!

Extended Marketplace Opportunities in the next version of Windows Phone

Also at MIX, we presented a comprehensive list of new features that will improve the Windows Phone Marketplace experience for both consumers and developers with the next version of Windows Phone.

For consumers, the new Windows Phone Marketplace experience will include an improved design with panes and more panoramas, a better search experience with autocomplete queries and search results grouped by app, music, or games sections. A new jump list and a soft-search button will make it easier to find installed apps on Windows phones. (fiinix: well, the leaked search button, that a guy by accident cam'ed (Link to post))

For developers, the new Windows Phone Marketplace experience will introduce new Beta and Private Distribution services and a more streamlined app submission flow. More details on the certification status of apps will be available in the App Lifecycle tab and an updated Dashboard will provide notifications and important performance indicators. Developers will also be able to perform more granular data analysis and filtering with the ability to export data from the download and payout reports to XML.

Finally, we will extend the reach of the Windows Phone Marketplace from 16 to 35 countries, increasing the market potential for your apps and games. The 19 new end-user countries are:

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan. (fiinix: Yay! Netherlands and Sweden (My countries get Marketplace, no need to cross UK account anymore?))

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