Technology on DVLUP

Get Prototyping

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

UPDATE

This offer ends midnight, Sunday, October 20th, 2013. If you have been stalling, now is the time to get it finished up.

Here’s my current offer for all you devs who are sitting on the fence about creating a Windows Phone app:

I will give you a Nokia Premium Developer Program token ($1500 value) if you email me your working prototype for Windows Phone.

I’ll then help you finish the app by providing guidance, resources or whatever you need to get it ready for the store. You can use any number of resources to build this prototype:

Giveaway Time!

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

[UPDATE] Winners announced!

Congratulations to the following developers:

Jerrell Blankenship: JBL Powerup
Marcus Vaal: Wenger Computer Backpack
Anthony Russell: Wenger Computer Backpack
Gary Ritter Jr.: Nokia Wireless Charging Plate
Austin Andrews: Nokia Purity In-Ear Headphones

I will reach out via email to get your shipping info and color preference (if applicable).

Giveaway Details

Yep, it’s time again and it’s a good one! The picture shows what I am giving away on July 31st, 2013, here is the exact list:

Make an Awesome Video for Your App

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Nokia has gone to great lengths to make it easy for developers to create promotional materials for their Windows Phone apps. This quick video shows you how to do it.

Steps to make your own

Got to the Marketing Toolkit main page (you’ll need to be signed in)
Select the checkbox under “Promotional Video”
Paste in the Store URL to your app
Select the platform of your choice (I chose Lumia 920)
Select a language
Click “Continue”

On the next page:

Nokia Lumia 822 and Lumia 800 giveaway [winner!]

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

[UPDATE] We have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get their first app in the Windows Phone Store! Keep it up, as I have many more contests coming up. Update your app entry with a new feature, or optimize it’s layout, to get the app ready for my next contest ;)

Now, without further ado, the winner of the June giveaway… drum roll… Richard Huang of Boston, MA. Here is a link to his Windows Phone app entry for the drawing. To everyone else who didn’t enter, if you’re a developer who fits the qualifications below, email me to get a head start on my next giveaway.

Rewarding Quality

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Offer ends Feb 11th, 2013 5:00 PM PST

So you’ve published an app and you’ve worked hard to keep its rating at 4+ stars. You’ve had at least 50 ratings, proving that it’s not a fluke. Now what? Let me bring you into the fold of the elite.

You and your app will get:

Windows Phone Store Placement
App Highlights Placement (Nokia’s app that is preinstalled on all new Nokia Lumias)
NAX Credits for you to advertise your app in other apps

So if you meet the conditions (has minimum 50 ratings, is currently 4 stars or higher, and you’re DVLUP member or eligible to be) send me an email ext-lance.mccarthy@nokia.com

Registering Extensions

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

With the entrance of Visual Studio 2012 we saw a new interface to edit your WMAppManifest file. This is a great tool to help you properly setup your app’s meta data. There is one limitation you should be aware of… there is no support for extensions. What are extensions? They are the added functionality that lets you tie your app into other parts of the OS and user experience. This blog post will cover the extensions for photos, but the process is the same for other extensions.

From The Ground Up

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This post is to get you started on Windows Phone Development “from the ground up” and is targeted towards people who have no prior experience with the Windows Phone SDK. At any time you can refer to my resources page for additional links to WPDev assets, tutorials and example code.

Ok, let’s begin.

The first thing you should know is that is does not cost a penny to develop for Windows Phone! The SDK and the tools are free. The only time you will need to pay is when you sign up for your Microsoft DevCenter account. The DevCenter is your portal to the Windows Phone Store. It is where you will submit, update and track your apps. I can help mitigate those costs for you. If you are an Android or iOS Developer and are porting an app, or a true “from the ground up” developer, I will pay for your first year’s DevCenter fee. Contact me for details.

Denied?

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

So, you got an email from DVLUP stating that your challenge submission was denied. Why were you denied? What did you miss? I wanted to write this post to share the top reasons for denial and how to fix it… 90% of these are due to the fact you didn’t edit your WMAppManifest file.

Here are the top offenders:

Not all Live Tiles Sizes
No animated Tiles
Not all WP8 resolutions

#1- You need to have all three tile sizes enabled for your app. Here is a list of the tile sizes from the MSDN Documentation . To rectify this problem, simply toggle the “Support for large Tiles” property in your WMAppManifest file. See the image in answer #2 for more details.

How Rad is your app?

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I have another giveaway and challenge for my developers today. In addition to being a Nokia Developer Ambassador, I work full time as a XAML Support Specialist at Telerik, yep the awesome RadControls people. So, I’d like to ask you, “How Rad is your app?”

I don’t want this post to sound like an ad, but rather a testimonial. That’s why I make it a point to say that I used the RadControls long before I became an employee, their components are a powerful, indispensable part of my development toolbox. The RadControls make your app look like you had a whole team of designers. I just released an app powered by the RadControls, “Conferenced In”. Get it here so you can follow along with this post as I make a simple comparison.

Level Up with DVLUP!

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Got your developer hat on? Check. Got your gamer hat on? Check. Ready to earn awesome rewards for doing what you love? Check!

Great, then let’s get rolling! I am officially announcing the beginning of a brand new, groundbreaking program from Nokia for Windows Phone developers, DVLUP. You are formally invited to participate in this currently invite-only program where you earn points for your apps through completing challenges. Spend your XP on Xbox 360s, new Nokia Lumias and more.