I am a software engineer and work in Windows team in Microsoft.
I started working learning and developing since April 2011.
Do you develop apps for other Mobile Platforms too ?
Which ones do you work on ? Which ones do you find lucrative for a developer and why ?
I did one for Symbian but didn’t publish it. Initially it was iOs platform which inspired me to develop apps. I did some initial study and found that without mac I cannot proceed. So was looking for other options.
Microsoft gifted Windows Phone to all employees. I was amazed by the design and uniqueness of the phone and felt that this platform will thrive in the long run, compared to others. Being Microsoft employee, I got the leverage of free developer registrations, ample learning material, participation in internal distribution lists etc. and it helped to clear all my doubts.
Other two apps I developed are Eggs and 2 INR
What is the secret ingredient for a good app ?
- Pinning Bookmarked PNR and Saved Train schedule to the start screen.
- Automatic updating PNR status.
- Location based alarm, to notify when the destination station is approaching.
Can we expect Live Tiles for the app ?
Indian users do not have the habit of purchasing apps as of now. So chances of the paid apps getting hit are low. But I guess ad supported apps can get good revenue from Indian users. Many good apps can be developed for Indian Market, but very few companies have API’s which would allow to fetch their content. If companies develop their back-end infrastructure and expose API’s to developers, many decent apps can be developed which will benefit companies, developers and users.
The Windows Phone is one of the best platforms for developers to show their creativity. Also its still naive compared to ios and andriod. Getting a head start early would be quite advantageous for developers. There are plenty of forums, blog posts with lot of code samples along with MSDN documention which will help you clear any doubts within few minutes.
First thing is pubcenter registration for Indian developers
- Live cubes instead of Live tiles.
- Bluetooth support.
- Push notification alerts stack.(so that I never miss Tango/Whatspp or any other app’s alerts)
- Battery status notification in percentage in Lock screen.
- Copy+Paste in dial pad.
- Ability to configure and call one number along with emergency numbers that can be called even with locked screen.(Will help if some one’s phone is lost.)
- Easy customization of live tiles for developers
