1)Have you developed Apps for any other platforms before?If Yes What are they?

This is my first app for any platform.  I have only developed internal-use software in my day-job (mainly in C#), so this is a new adventure for me!

2)Why did you choose WP7 as a platform of your choice?

I chose WP7 as it uses the .NET platform, which I use in my job as a software developer.  It was by far the easiest way for me to start developing a phone app as the Dev environment is familiar and easy to use and it utilises C#, so I’ve only had to learn about Silverlight, which was something I hadn’t used before.  The Microsoft platforms are really matured now and carry a lot of functionality.

3)Which one do you think as the single most feature you liked in WP7?

Although I can’t use them yet, the Panorama and Pivot controls give a great user experience and I am looking forward to utilising them in future applications.  I think Microsoft have designed a great style in the new platform, which hopefully will carry through into people’s apps.

4)Are you satisfied with WP7 Platform development tools?

The fact that Microsoft are providing developers the opportunity to use Visual Studio for free is enabling more and more developers to get involved, which is great.  The Dev environment and tools are very complete and have everything I need to aid me in the design and development of my applications.  There’s still a few bugs that I’ve encountered in the Beta tools and SDK, but hopefully they’ll all be addressed in the next release.

5)What are the Apps you are developing now in WP7?

At the moment I am focussing on just one application, My Car Buddy, which allows you to log journeys that you make on a regular basis, compare your journey against your best time, calculate fuel economy and store business travel journeys (for use in expenses calculations).  Shortly after releasing My Car Buddy, I will release My Walking Buddy and My Cycling Buddy, which are adaptations of the Car version, but optimised for the other modes of transport.  I also have a few other ideas floating about in my head, so I’ll be sure to let you guys know when they’re a bit further along the line!

6)In what way Microsoft can improve their WP7 or What does WP7 lacks from?

It’s too early to be too critical of WP7, as I think the make or break of it will be largely dependant on the Apps.  The platform itself looks great and they’ve taken a new approach to taking on a market full of iPhones and iPhone-like devices.  Without having used an actual WP7 at this stage, I can’t say whether it is lacking anything in particular.  I suspect the biggest gripe for the development community will be the lack of true Multi-tasking.  I know that it would be an advantage for my application to be able to run in the background while the user takes a call for example.

7)Future Plans of you?

As this is my first attempt at making a commercial application outside of my day job, I will be taking things slowly at first.  If WP7 is a success and my applications start to sell, I will be looking forward to continuing development on the platform.  I’m very excited about WP7 and I hope that I will be able to contribute something worthwhile to the community and the end-users.

8)Apart from these questions,Other things you want to share with the community?

I am really pleased with the response so far for my application.  I am still in the early stages of development, but it is progressing well.  The development community has been very good, there’s lots of documentation out there, and the forums over at http://developer.windowsphone.com have been great.  Hopefully people are starting to get as excited about WP7 as I am, as each day there’s some new piece of information released!

My Blog: http://blog.witheytechnologies.co.uk

Thanks Steven for sharing with us.Expecting more WP7 apps from your company.

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About Pradeep Viswav

Pradeep was a Microsoft Student Partner when he was pursuing his Computer Science & Engineering degree. He now works for a MNC. He is passionate about technology and loves to share his knowledge with people. People used to mention him as “A Geek who is not Nerd”. He was fascinated by the Metro Design language and Windows Phone which made him to follow and develop applications for it. Follow him at twitter.com/pradeepviswav

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