So I am assuming you read the 'Dataquest Insight: Application Stores; The Revenue Opportunity Beyond the Hype' Gartners new report on App/Mkt place. To summarize, this report says by the end of 2011 the App Marketplace will generate revenues north of $15 Billion USD. It also goes on to speak about how the tipping point occurred in 2010 with Android and Apple market places taking the lead, And it goes as far as saying that by 2014 – the market place will generate revenues up to $58 Billion dollars. That’s a 10x increase from 2010. Impressive, certainly! Over-optimistic and callous, a little bit of both – yes!

So developers, there are 58 billon reasons for you to develop the next greatest app! From that perspective my team has built this awesome content to help you get started. As always, your feedback would help us deliver quality content in the future. Please feel free to send the information to me via my blog.

Content:

*NEW* 6 Windows Phone Virtual Labs (released 01/25)

Quickly evaluate or learn how to build great applications for Windows Phone through a series of guided, hands-on labs for which can be completed in 90 minutes or less. The best part is, the MSDN Virtual Labs don’t require any installation and are available to you immediately for FREE. Start by selecting the lab you’re interested in from the list below.

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Building your First Windows Phone 7 Application New!

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Hello Windows Phone New!

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Launchers and Choosers New!

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Using Pivot and Panorama Controls New!

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Application Lifecycle New!

· MSDN Virtual Lab: Windows Phone Navigation and Controls New!

We all need a ready reckoner for those awesome features WP7 has to offer. Here’s an awesome compile that our partners and colleagues at www.msdev.com have put together.  Please note that these are all bite sized videos that help you learn fast!

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Introducing Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Getting Started with Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 in 7: The Windows Phone 7 Application Architecture

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Silverlight and Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 in 7: XNA and Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Windows Phone 7 Controls

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Connecting to Web Services

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Windows Phone 7 and Data

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Using Isolated Storage

Windows Phone 7 in 7: The Application Bar

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Developing for the Windows Phone 7 Web Browser

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Globalization and Localization

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Building a Location-aware Application

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Push Notifications

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Security and Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Using the Accelerometer

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Using Media in Windows Phone 7 Apps

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Manipulations

Windows Phone 7 in 7: SIP Layout

Windows Phone 7 in 7: Using the Windows Phone 7 Cameras

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use MVVM in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Make Windows Phone 7 Applications Support Orientation Changes?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use Page Turn Animation in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use Touch Manipulation in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Implement Tilt Effects in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use XNA for Gestures and Collision Detection in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How do I: Use Push Notifications in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use Push Notifications for Tile Customization in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Save Images to the Pictures Hub and Retrieve them back from the Hub in a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Implement Tombstoning in Windows Phone 7 Applications?

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Use XNA for Game State Management in a Windows Phone 7 application?

For Android & iPhone Developers:

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: The User Interface

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: Data

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: Graphics

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: Performance

Why Windows Phone 7 for the iPhone & Android Developer

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Migrate an Android Application to a Windows Phone 7 Application?

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: Visual Studio 2010

Windows Phone 7 for Android Developers: Java to C#

Windows Phone Developer Tools for the iPhone Developer

Windows Phone 7: How Do I: Migrate an iPhone Application to a Windows Phone 7 Application?

MVP Program:

As you know we are now accepting new applicants for the Windows Phone 7 Developer MVP Program. If you or anyone you know excels in WP7 development, engages often with the breadth community (developer, consumer, forums, etc) or is simply passionate about helping and working with the community – contact us. You can send me the details via my blog (or tweet me for more details – @mithund)

Special Offers:

$99 Windows Phone Marketplace Rebate

Get a $99 rebate for your Marketplace fee when you successfully publish two Windows Phone 7 apps that are profiled in the Windows Phone 7 Developer Program (Microsoft Platform Ready for WP7) and in the Marketplace by February 15th, 2011.*

*Offer good only in the 50 United States (includes D. of C.) to profiled users (new and existing) of both the Windows Phone 7 Developer Program, (which is located at phone.microsoftplatformready.com and create.msdn.com/ready), and the Windows Phone Marketplace, having paid the $99 Marketplace fee.  Registrants must use the same LiveID registered with Marketplace as the Windows Phone 7 Developer Program.  Offer good until Feb 15, 2011 for companies or individuals to successfully publish two Windows Phone 7 applications to Windows Phone Marketplace.  This offer is non-transferable. Limit one rebate per company or individual. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Microsoft is committed to complying with government gift and ethics rules and therefore government entities and employees are not eligible for this offer. Please allow 6-8 weeks for processing of your rebate. Any rebate returned as non-deliverable will not be re-sent.

Now that I have your interest, let’s get started!

Stay in touch!

-Mithun Dhar

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

-Mithun Dhar

Microsoft Certification Packs Extends Deadline

Microsoft Learning has decided to extend the deadline on the Microsoft Certification Packs. Now customers who buy a pack and take their first exam before June 30, 2011 will have until December 31, 2011 to take the rest of the exams in the pack. This will provide a longer window for customers to prepare and take their exams to achieve their certification. Microsoft Certification Packs provide aggressive discounts when customer buy more than one exam. Plus, Microsoft Certification Packs provide FREE retake exams if you fail on your first attempts. 

Customers have several choices that map nicely to Certification Paths, or just help validate knowledge:

Visit: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/career/en/us/career-offer.aspx#certification

-Mithun Dhar

The heart and soul of the Microsoft Developer Community is the MVP and RD Engines. Every year on January 1st, a brand new set of MVP awards are awarded to a very esteemed bunch of well deserving, inspiring, community people. These folks are the leaders who help and make a significant difference in the Microsoft/ technical community. These announcements are made quarterly and each year more than 4,000 MVPs are honored.

MVP Candidates are nominated by Microsoft, other Community leaders or in some cases – themselves. After the nomination process, they are evaluated by Microsoft for their technical acumen, community participation and leadership, community contribution (thus far), and their ability to scale both in-person and via social media channels.  Visit our nomination page to nominate yourself or someone you know to be considered for an MVP Award.

# of MVPs; >4000

# of Countries: >100

# of Languages: >40

# of Technologies: >90

# total questions answered in 2010: >10,000,000 (>10 Million)

I am really excited to announce the two new Technical Expertise we added this year. We added the SQL Azure and Office 365 (BPOS) to the program. We are now covering more than 90 different Microsoft Technologies. Both of these additions showcase our commitment to the future of our platform in the Cloud. Both SQL Azure and Office 365 nicely fit into the Cloud Platform (Windows Azure) and honor Cloud Development leaders. So, please welcome the 8 new candidates into the Microsoft MVP Program.

Looking forward to working with all of you this year!

For questions or feedback, please email (via this blog) or tweet me at: @mithund

-Mithun Dhar

Happy New Year folks!

This new year marks another fresh FireStarter series. On January 27th, Microsoft is hosting the SharePoint 2010 FireStarter event in Redmond, WA. The entire event will be Streamed Live online. Be sure to Register to attend in-person or watch the action unfold Live online!

We have a fantastic Line up of speakers, including all the SharePoint Rockstars like Paul Stubbs, Steve Fox, etc. This event is day long with lunch and a few other breaks sponsored by Microsoft. The entire event is FREE! All the sessions will be recorded and made available to you online afte rhte evnet. Take a peek at the agenda…

Agenda:

Registration (Click below):

Time:

Thursday, January 27th 2011
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM PST

Venue:

Microsoft Conference Center
16070 NE 36th Way
Building 33
Redmond, WA 98052

Contact:

Mithun Dhar – Leave a comment on my blog or tweet me at @mithund

We look forward to seeing you at the event! Let me know if you have any questions…

-Mithun Dhar