Good news for devs. Microsoft has released Windows Phone Developer Tools in the form of a beta release. As the Windows Phone Developer Blog states, the release is “a near final version of tools for building applications and games for Windows Phone 7″. The top level items noted are:
- Microsoft Expression Blend for Windows Phone – Blend is now integrated completely into the Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta.
- Developer Registration Utility – Now you can unlock you Windows Phone 7 device for development purposes.
- XAP Deployment Tool – if you want to deploy XAP files directly to an unlocked device, now you can.
- The Windows Phone 7 API – we’re getting close to completion. Many namespaces that were previously distributed over several different DLLs have now been consolidated into one. In addition, there have been realignments and changes in several other namespaces as well. Push Notifications, Accelerometer and App Bar APIs have all been updated.
- Additional Controls – There are some additional controls coming in the next few weeks (i.e. Panorama and Pivot) which didn’t make the beta release. They are coming soon.
- Control Templates – Silverlight for Windows Phone control templates have been updated to match evolutions in the overall OS.
Microsoft will begin offering a free virtual live class for developers looking to get on board Windows Phone 7 development. The sessions start on July 20th and you can register here.
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