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South Australian Windows Phone Dev Workshops! Register Now!

by Peter Murphy on 16/04/2013

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I think this is a first, with most of these events being Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Based, but if you are a budding or accomplished Windows Phone Developer from RADelaide, this is an event you will not want to miss.

Microsoft are holding a pair of Windows Phone 8 Developer workshops on Friday the 3rd, and Saturday the 4th of May and registration is open now.

Calling all SA Adelaide based Mobile developers, Microsoft and Nokia are delighted to announce that we’ve have extended the Windows Phone 8 Developer series of workshops to now include Adelaide

Even if you’ve been working on *ahem, cough* other platforms, these workshops are a good way to be introduced to developing for Windows Phone 8, with the Friday being presentation based, introducing you to the concepts and techniques you’ll need to create successful Windows Phone applications.

Day two is about the tools, working with the Windows Phone SDK, and hands on labs dealing with specific API’s, pertinent to WP8. You can get an idea of the intended agenda, subjects to be covered here.

Not to mention it’s a great way to network with other like minded developers, and staff from Microsoft and Nokia.

There will be some bonus incentives for devs to get apps published to the store from Nokia as well. Win Win. The only prerequisites needed, Ideas and Enthusiasm.

Even if you cannot make it to the workshops, keep ahead of the game and become a registered member of the Australian Windows Phone Developer Community, there’s always something going on, and you want that news direct from the source.

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PhotoPlay, Who Needs Instagram?

by Peter Murphy on 03/04/2013

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The focus on Instagram goes well beyond photo sharing apps for Windows Phone. No matter what my thoughts are on that situation, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there are cross platform apps that perform a similar function available for Windows Phone.

Last May I took a look at Eyeem, an app for Windows Phone 7, that was a deserving photo sharing network, with a great focus on the art of photography, with apps for Android and iOS as well. A really good service, and large enough to be a decent competitor to Instagram with out the backing of Facebook. Unfortunately, they have not delivered in terms of keeping up with the Windows Phone platform, not delivering an update for Windows Phone 8. Even though I still use it, Eyeem has followed the money, Android and iOS, leaving Windows Phone users languishing.

Recently another service, PhotoPlay, using basically the same model entered the frey, but how much bearing do apps like these have on the current situation?

Read On

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Nokia’s Storage Check On Video, Just!

by Peter Murphy on 12/03/2013

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Some things just get beaten up into issues don’t they, and again the “Other” storage on Windows Phone 8 is in the limelight. Seems a user has gotten a hold of the, next Nokia update that includes their storage check app. I don’t know whether to call it an app or an inclusion to the OS, but it’s definitely a Nokia firmware add on. . The video is not that clear, but it looks like it details the storage that all apps on the phone use, and gives you the ability to clear that storage.

It does not seem to be able to clear integral system files, only those related to third party apps. It’s hard to say for sure though, because the video skips through the details part of the process rather quickly, and there is no clear end result displayed. The noise around the “Other” partition is definitely filtering back to the OEMs, when will Microsoft give us some clear info about the issue?

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AusWinPhone App On The Way!

by Peter Murphy on 07/03/2013

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So good news and bad news, looks like there will be an AusWinPhone app on the Windows Phone Store pending approval in the next couple of days, and of course it will be free. Bad news is that the app that I have been working on for the site failed certification dismally, because of a simple language mistake that I made, and some issues with logos.

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So as disappointed as I am with myself for missing a couple of basic things, I quickly uploaded a generated app from a service online, to get something up which I hope to update later in the week. Not satisfactory, but a solution that will work for now, as I have been under the pump working on another project that I think all Windows Phone Fans will appreciate. While not elegant, it is a stop gap that I hope to be able to update soon.

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Excessive Data Usage On Windows Phone 8!

by Peter Murphy on 21/02/2013

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Since I upgraded to WP8, I have faced a continual dilemma, and no amount of research, and communicating with the right people has been able to offer me a definitive answer why. At first I thought it was a network issue, probably my data APN configured wrongly, and it’s still possible that is a contributor. When I check my account online, the APN that shows, is still different to the one that my carrier says it should be.

Of course I cannot say without a doubt that it is only network config that is causing the problems. There’s also strong evidence that apps, specifically apps that I used on Windows Phone 7 with out a problem, that have not been updated/optimised for Windows Phone 8, are also major culprits. The Windows Phone Dev blog recently published an article detailing monitoring network usage in poorly designed apps [take that to mean apps that have not been upgraded as well.

Read On

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Next Gen Reader for Windows Phone 8!

by Peter Murphy on 12/01/2013

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Google may be the anti-Christ when it comes to Windows Phone at the moment, but that does not mean that users of the platform are divorcing themselves from the services that they offer. Google and Windows Phone developers recognise the fact, and services that Google offer are still being actively developed for the platform.

The recent maps debacle really showed that, even though a user base is relatively small, in terms of the worlds online population, denying them services is really a no no, for whatever the reason. Obviously there are many variables within a company, and communication is always not at its best, but Google does offer a lot of services that many of us independent, or cohesively blended, bring to our mobile lives.

Read On

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Speed Comparison! HTC 8X, HTC Titan II! Video

by Peter Murphy on 29/12/2012

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Logically, and numerically, the jump from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8 infers and creates an expectation of bigger and better. On the surface, Microsoft have been able to keep the user interface very familiar, and introduced a lot of user experience features that have been warmly welcomed. Namely the use of the whole display, and the three tile sizes. Cosmetically, there is an obvious change, for the better.

Underlying that though, Windows phone 8 is a new operating system, it’s core is less like it was and more like Windows 8, and while both are relatively new, we should see the benefits of the merger rather quickly. While there is some common code shared between WP7 and WP8, the differences start to become obvious when you compare the two in real-time.

Read On

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