Testing your Phone app on every Nokia device just got easier.

When it comes to application testing, running your apps on phones is invaluable. To see the features you observed working in the emulator behaving as you expect on a phone is both rewarding and satisfying, not to mention the reassurance it provides that your app is ready to be unleashed on consumers worldwide. However, maintaining a wide portfolio of current phones may be impractical. Aside from the cost, Nokia phones come in a wide variety of regional and operator variants that simply may not be available in your locality. In addition, as new models are release they may not be available in your area immediately.

IPhone 5S features I want to see on my Windows Phone, today!

1. Fingerprint authentication. I had it way back with Windows Mobile and loved it. But I don’t have it with Windows Phone. I certainly have a little biometric envy.
2. Multi-colored flash. I have a xenon flash, which spanks any LED flash. Good lighting is important. Still, the IPhone’s multi-color LED flash is appealing to me.
3. 64 bit. My phone can do absolutely anything I ask it to do quickly and in a snap. But, as a geek, I can’t help but want to have larger numbers in my phone’s specifications.
4. Battery. I have never had a 40 hour music session, but if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it. If the IPhone battery can really support 40 hours of music playback, I want that battery.
5. $506 share price. I’m vested at around $30 per share for my Microsoft stock. Perhaps more than anything else, I would like to see our price per share hit around $506. Yes, I would.

Best of luck!

How Apple’s new IPhone 5S bald-faced copied Microsoft Windows Phone

There is no shame in copying excellence. In fact, I would say that a core tenet of excellence is its ability to inspire excellence in others. Microsoft had the first smartphone, that doesn’t diminish Apple. Microsoft had the first smart watch, that doesn’t diminish Google. Microsoft had the first DVR, that doesn’t diminish Tivo. You see, standing on other’s shoulders (not their necks) is a harmonious succession of advancements and innovations in the marketplace. Long live compound innovations.

Am I the only one thinking it? If Microsoft was the first, why does everyone else get credit? The reason is clear and irrefutable. History rewards the successful. Creators may innovate an idea (say, a GUI and a mouse) but whoever brings it to market successfully receives that historical reward. Of course, nobody would believe Microsoft invented the smartphone; like, nobody would believe Microsoft didn’t invent Windows – clear and irrefutable. Sort of.

Let’s start this out on the right foot. Is “bald-faced” a loaded word? I think what I meant was “seemingly”. :)

There is an abundance of excellence in the Apple, Android, and Windows Phone products. Excellence in engineering comes from people, and each of them employs people. Excellence in design comes from people, and each of them employs people. No single person “owns” innovation. Concurrently, no single company does either.

I believe when companies fight to be the most innovative, consumers win.  

Having said that, today was the reveal of Apple’s IPhone 5S. A truly beautiful offering. Not one that I plan to invest in, but one I can appreciate. As I admired it, I suddenly realized why I liked it. Imitation is the best form of flattery. And, the new IPhone 5S (and IOS7) has some particularly flattering features – especially when you consider them next to a Microsoft Windows Phone.

This is the most important control you may ever use

There are two version of PianoTime for Windows 8 – a successful title from a Colorado publisher. The free version sponsored by ads, and the $3.48 ad free version. Do people purchase their way out of ads? Yes, they do. Do most people. No, they don’t. So, is it worth it?

Freemium

Freemium is a booming business model for apps. Because of digital production, product copies can be given away. They are done so without an expectation that all or most users will buy. Instead, a single-digit percentage will purchase. But, the wealth of free functionality drives market penetration. As a result, that small percentage surpasses traditional pay-for-what-you-get purchase.

For example, a durable consumer purchase is the ad-free version. Similarly, an in-app purchase hiding ads is the same. Both provide users the full fidelity of an app. They can use it. They can love it. They can rely on it. All for free. Market penetration grows. Respect for the app and annoyance around ads are the purchase motivators. The percentage is small, but the number is large.

Smartphones by Market Share

I made my first info graphic using smartphone market share data. Pretty cool.

This is 3 months ending May

WIndows Phone Sales by Market | Create infographics

$19 “Summer Break” limited time offer - start publishing apps for Windows Phone today

As the 2013 //build/ conference gets underway, I wanted to check in to share an update on our progress toward our goal of fostering a Windows Phone ecosystem characterized by quality, scale, and developer opportunity. I’ve also got a special offer to announce to encourage those of you who haven’t yet published a Windows Phone app to join us. Think of it as a “summer break.”

Read more here

Best Windows Phone Commercial Ever

• “Siri, search one-trick pony”
• “Aren’t you a little young to have an IPhone”
• “Isheep”
• “Copy-bots”
• “Auto-correct… this!”
• Boom! “Is there an app for that?”
• “Siri, search karate! No, Ka-ra-te!”

“Do you think if they knew about the Nokia Lumia they would stop fighting?”
“I don’t know. I think they kind of like fighting.”

Stop fighting. Switch.

Hehe! WP is the “peaceful” phone.

And smartphone of the freakin’ year! Boo-yah, baby!

Pretty great commercial.

DevRadio: Windows Phone 8 Features Overview

Technical Evangelists Jerry Nixon, Daniel Egan and Ryan Lowdermilk discuss their Top 20 (give or take) Windows Phone 8 features. Tune in as they discuss NFC support, Data Sense, Geolocation, Writable OS Tasks, Bluetooth and Skype APIs and much, much more!

Choosing the Windows Phone That’s Right for Me

Stop me if you have heard this one: so, a Microsoft Developer Evangelist walks into an AT&T Store and asks to see their Windows Phones. Which phone gets recommended?

Since time immemorial, the recurring trend is this: people like what they know and recommend what they like. This is true with cultures, languages, religions, movies, washing machines, and mobile phones.

Customers buy IPhones when the salesperson carries an IPhone, Androids when the salesperson carries an Android, and Windows Phones when the salesperson carries a Windows Phone (or remains silent).

The Absolute Top Features of Windows Phone 8

All I can say is Awesome! I am so pleased with Windows Phone 8.

WPCentral: There are two areas in which Windows Phone 8 differs from its predecessor: the core of the OS has been updated with the NT kernel and the addition and refinement of features. Consumers don’t need to know about the kernel specifics but they will see the results: new, top of the line hardware. That hardware will be evident in a few weeks when devices like the HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 920 become available.

What if your Windows Phone app idea got funded? Here it is!

My colleague Brian Hopkins introduced AppCampus!

Do you have a great idea for a Windows Phone app? Figuring out how you’re going to raise money for it? You’ve come to the right place for a fresh new way to fund your project. Microsoft BizSpark has teamed up with AppCampus to offer grants for select startups in the BizSpark program to build compelling Windows Phone apps. The program offers awards specifically to BizSpark startups, ranging from 20,000-70,000 euros. Even better, the grants are just that. AppCampus don’t take equity, revenue share, or IP rights.

Save the date! For Windows Phone 8 on October 29th

If you are like me and you love Windows Phone, then you are excited about the next version (Windows Phone 8). If you are like me and you love to develop for Windows Phone, then you are excited about the next version. When is the next version coming?

Well, here’s what I am hearing ‘round the net:

PCMAG: Microsoft today sent out a "save the date" for Oct. 29, when it will formally unveil its Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system.

RedmondMag: ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley first reported on a possible Oct. 29 launch date for the next generation of Microsoft's smartphone operating system in late August. Microsoft confirmed the date on Thursday when it sent invitationsto various press outlets to "Meet Windows Phone 8."

TechCrunch: Microsoft is sending out invites for a Windows Phone 8 launch event on October 29, to be held at 10 AM PST. The  phone platform was shown off on stage during a joint event with Nokia, and also during another with HTC in September, but Microsoft is saying we’ll see more at its own show.