Microsoft made available for download on March 15 test versions of a number of the tools that .NET developers can use to build applications for Windows Phone 7 Series devices. At the Mix 10 opening keynote, last month, Microsoft officials emphasized how Silverlight and Expression Blend will complement the XNA Game Studio 4.0 toolset, giving programmers a number of choices as to how to develop applications and games for Microsoft’s new mobile platform.
From the post from Charlie Kindel, Microsoft Partner Group Program Manager for the Windows Phone Application Platform & Developer Experience:
“If you install the retail (RTM) release of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 on the same machine on which you already have the Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP, you will be unable to build your Windows Phone projects. Further, while the Windows Phone project type will continue to appear in the File/New dialog, you will not be able to build Windows Phone 7 Series applications.”
Kindel said Microsoft is planning to release an updated version of the Windows Phone Developer Tools “within a few weeks.” There’s a sign-up page for those who want to be notified once that update is available, here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/cmpn/vslaunch/default.mspx
The WPDT CTP was based on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 release candidate (RC), and the updates made to Microsoft Visual Studio between RC and the final RTM release causes incompatibilities with WPDT CTP. We are working to update the WPDT CTP to support the retail release of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. We will have this update available within a few weeks.
During the Mix 10 keynote, it was clear that Microsoft is doing its best to distance itself from being known as an enterprise phone developer. Company officials didn’t demonstrate a single enterprise app — other than Outlook — during the kick-off Mix keynote.
One way to get around the problem is for testers to continue to use the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate, instead of the final bits, until Microsoft releases the updated CTP. Kindel also suggested some workarounds for those who want to use the final version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, including installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 to a Virtual PC image or installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 on another machine. He noted that installing the Windows Phone Developer Tools preview to a Virtual PC image is not supported.
Visual Studio 2010 Premium Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here
Visual Studio 2010 Professional Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here
Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here
.NET Framework 4 Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here
Silverlight 4 Release Candidate (RC) Build 4.0.50303.0 is available for download here