Introduction

Windows Phone was introduced to the public in North America on November 8, 2010. It entered a highly competitive market, with very popular alternatives, and yet it was immediately seen as something new, different, innovative, and potentially game changing.

Even at its release, the developers were saying “you ain't seen nothing yet,” and just ten months later, Microsoft released the Windows Phone 7.5 code name, Mango.

It has been estimated that Mango has more than 1,000 new APIs for the Windows Phone SDK, implementing some very exciting features, which you'll read about in this book. Mango not only revolutionizes Windows Phone, but arguably revolutionizes the industry itself.

This book represents a snapshot in the life of Windows Phone, but has been written with an eye toward staying current, even as Windows Phone evolves.

Windows Phone is innovative and different, not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of making a phone that integrates into the user's lifestyle without becoming a lifestyle in itself.

One of the most noticeable aspects of Windows Phone is the Metro design style, modeled after state-of-the-art signage to be clear, immediately apprehended, and beautiful.

We won't waste your time trying to convince you that it makes sense to program for Windows Phone; we will make the assumption that you are reading this book because you've already made that decision.

Migrating

The goal of this book isn't to demonstrate how to port existing applications to Windows Phone, but to help you migrate your existing skills to those of a professional Windows Phone programmer.

Migrating from Other Phones

Many of you picking up this book have experience in iPhone, Android, and other development environments. We'll try to make the path to Windows Phone programming clear, and we're convinced you'll find it simpler and more enjoyable.

Migrating from Silverlight or WPF

Those of you migrating your skills from Silverlight or WPS will find the transition to be straightforward, although there are some tricky places that we will point out as we go along.