Very pleased to see the very positive review of ‘Live Tile News’ on “Click“ this week.
If you don’t already have this app why not try one of the following options:
(All developer proceeds from Ads and Sales go to charity)
Well I have to say that I have had my fair share of issues with the Windows phone 7 marketplace (don’t ask) but I was very happy to receive the following email from the Marketplace team:
“We are reaching out to ask your permission to cross-submit each of your Windows Phone apps into the markets* identified below, which includes more than 25 new markets. We realize that the process to cross-submit takes time out of your busy schedule, so we are requesting your permission to submit all of your applications on your behalf to save you time and effort. This will provide an opportunity for your apps to get additional exposure in new markets which may lead to more downloads and more revenue for your app(s).”
PERMISSION TO CROSS SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION(S) TO NEW MARKETS:
Please respond by Friday April 27th, 2012 11:59PM PST by replying directly to this email stating one of the following:
1) “Yes. I authorize cross-submissions.”
a. I authorize Microsoft to cross-submit each of my apps into all markets*.
2) “Yes. I authorize cross-submissions with exceptions.”
a. I authorize Microsoft to cross-submit my apps into all markets* with the following limitations: (please list any apps that you do not want submitted in the new markets and/or any new markets you want to exclude from submission)
3) “No. I will cross-submit to new markets myself through App Hub.”
a. We will not take any action without your reply, and a reply is not required. However, if you respond with this option, we will note your preference and will not send a follow-up email on this topic.
Please respond from the email address associated with your developer account to expedite the process as we will not be able to act on replies from other email addresses.
APPLICATION MARKETS:
* Windows Phone Marketplace now includes Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela and will announce UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Israel, Thailand, and Vietnam. These add to the previously launched markets of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.
ADDITIONAL REMINDERS:
· The terms of the Application Provider Agreement apply to the publication of your Application(s) in any additional markets.
· For paid applications, Microsoft will convert the USD base price you’ve provided into the applicable local currencies [include link to KB article on international price conversions].
· By replying to this email, you affirm you are authorized to respond on behalf of the developer account.
· Cross-submission of you application(s) may not occur for all markets; please check your account to confirm the markets in which your application(s) become(s) available.
Sincerely,
The Windows Phone Marketplace Team
As much for my own reference as anything else ….
Metro style design has a set of five guiding principles to help you make the best choices when designing your app. These principles are the foundation for building great Metro style apps. Consider these principles as you plan your app, and always ensure your design and development choices live up to these principles.
Devote time and energy to small things that are seen often by many of your users, and engineer the experience to be complete and polished at every stage.
Let people interact directly with content, and respond to actions quickly with matching energy. Bring life to the experience by creating a sense of continuity and telling a story through meaningful use of motion.
Take full advantage of the digital medium. Remove physical boundaries to create experiences that are more efficient and effortless than reality. Being authentically digital means embracing the fact that apps are pixels on a screen and designing with colours and images that go beyond the limits of the real world.
You can do more with less by reducing your design to its essence, and solving for distractions, not discoverability. Create a clean and purposeful experience by leaving only the most relevant elements on screen so people can be immersed in the content.
Desktop browsers have quite a lot of chrome (menus, options, status bars, and so on) that is only sometimes useful. Typically, however, users open a browser to see a webpage, not to interact with the browser. Moving commands off the browser chrome and into the app bar or into charms helps users focus on what they care about.
Work with other apps, devices, and the system to complete scenarios for people, like picking content from one app and sharing it with another. Take advantage of what people already know, like standard touch gestures and charms, to provide a sense of familiarity, control, and confidence.
(Reproduced from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh781237.aspx)
It occurred to me that it would be useful to have some kind of a ‘Windows 8 feature Check’ for new Apps along the lines of ‘have I considered this new feature for my own App’. I was about to craft such a blog post when I stumbled on this excellent post from Microsoft:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh465424
"Hard Work, Persistence & Passion" 