Today I finally took some time to check out the recent update to the App Hub. I have to say, Microsoft deserves some credits here. A lot of annoyances that existed before have been fixed. Still there’s some work left to be done. The biggest question: What happened to worldwide distribution?

It has been half a year since the first Windows Phone 7 devices went on sale in the Netherlands. While we are still awaiting the launch of our localized marketplace the group of early adaptors is growing. With over 450 registered developers and over 120 published apps there is a decent community supporting WP7. Unfortunately all Dutch users are forced to choose one of the foreign marketplaces to be able to download applications. This has one big disadvantage, Dutch apps never get the attention they deserve. What we need is our own spot within the international marketplaces and that is exactly what the “WP7NL Apps” application is going to provide.

It’s a problem encountered by every (WP7) app developer: users leaving reviews and there’s just no way to contact them. How often did you want to clarify features misunderstood by a user? Or just want to let the user know you appreciate the input and will consider their feedback for a future update? A while ago Silverlight MVP and PicturesLab developer Rene Schulte shared his manual way of contacting reviewers through Zune social on his blog. Although this works in only 50% of the cases it is the best method I am currently aware off. Therefore I decided to integrate messaging users with the existing WP7 Review Reader I built a while ago. This provides developers with an easy way of contacting their customers. Here’s how to use it:

The first rumours about tethering on the Samsung Omnia 7 and other WP7 devices started showing up a few months ago already. Since i love tethering for those few moments a really need an internet connection on my laptop, but don’t have wifi or my internet dongle around i decided to give it a shot with my Omnia 7. It requires a bigger effort than internet sharing back in the days with WM6.5, but I’m happy it works anyway. Here’s what you need to do:

Three months ago i released the Windows Phone 7 Review Reader to give WP7 developers easy access to their app reviews all over the world. It was meant to be a temporary solution until the App Hub was updated with extra features like accessing app reviews. During the last 90 days we’ve seen some big improvements to the App Hub (download numbers, for starters) but we are still waiting for some extra features. My little tool already had over 50K pageviews since its launch on the 2nd of November so it should be clear that developers want this information. To fill the gap that’s still left by Microsoft i will start to add new features to the review reader on a regular basis starting today.

Last friday i did a Windows Phone 7 introduction in front of about 500 students in Doetinchem. Since this blogpost is pointed at the students who attended, it will be presented in Dutch. Stay tuned for some more WP7 articles in English. Afgelopen vrijdag organiseerde Microsoft in samenwerking met het Graafschap College een ochtend met technische sessies voor MBO-studenten uit de regio Doetinchem. In het Amphion waren uiteindelijk ruim 500 studenten aanwezig voor een sessie van Tony Krijnen en Daniel van Soest over Windows 2008 R2/Windows 7 en aansluitend een sessie van mij over Windows Phone 7.  Gelukkig heb ik al veel enthousiaste reacties gekregen, wel hebben een aantal studenten aangegeven graag wat meer informatie te willen om eens rustig aan de slag te kunnen met Windows Phone 7. In deze blogpost vinden jullie alle benodigde informatie.

It’s been about 2 weeks since the first Windows Phone 7 devices became available and the Windows Phone 7 Applications Marketplace officially launched. This means consumers now have access to all the applications and for us developers this means our products (apps) can actually be sold. Unfortunately Microsoft does not provide easy access to reviews on the marketplaces just yet, all you can do is fire up the Zune software and check out the ratings in your local marketplace. I discussed this issue with Matthijs Hoekstra and have been trying to find a solution during the last few days.Fortunately i found one:

Update: Nu de Mango update voor Windows Phone beschikbaar is kan elke Nederlandse WP7 gebruiken gewoon een Nederlands live id gebruiken om uit de Nederlandse marketplace applicaties te downloaden. Onderstaande methode is dus niet meer nodig. Starting October 21st Windows Phone 7 devices will be available in the Netherlands. During the upcoming months I will regularly blog about Windows Phone 7. Most of these blogs will be relevant to all of you and therefore written in English. My first two blogs deal with some specific Dutch issues and will therefore be published in the Dutch language. Thanks for you understanding. Vanaf 21 oktober begint de lancering van Windows Phone 7 toestellen over de hele wereld. Voor de verandering zijn wij als Europa/Nederland er als een van de eersten bij en vanaf aanstaande donderdag zullen de eerste toestellen in de winkels verkrijgbaar zijn. Helaas hoort Nederland niet bij de landen die vanaf dag 1 een marketplace en xbox live beschikbaar hebben voor de telefoons. Medio 2011 wordt ondersteuning voor een Nederlandse marketplace verwacht, maar tot die tijd missen de telefoons in Nederland een belangrijk onderdeel van het platform. Gelukkig is het door een aantal dingen slim in te stellen toch mogelijk om gebruik te maken van een volledige marketplace en xbox live integratie. Hiervoor wenden we ons tot de Duitse of Engelse marketplace die gelukkig wel vanaf dag 1 beschikbaar zijn. In deze post zal ik beknopt beschrijven hoe een toestel zo in te stellen is dat gebruik wordt gemaakt van de Engelse marketplace en dat daarvoor desondanks een Nederlandse creditcard gebruikt kan worden. Later deze week zal ik ook een uitgebreide stap voor stap handleiding publiceren waarmee iedereen uit de voeten zou moet kunnen.

Yesterday my MSP colleagues in Eindhoven organised a lunchbreak event as a kickoff towards the rest of the year. Together with study society GEWIS they managed to attract around 90 students, so the event was a success before it event started. The event would consist of two parts. The first 45 minutes would be filled by me talking about Windows Phone 7 and application development followed by the Eindhoven MSPs introducing themselves, the MSP programme and possible benefits for the students.