The final version of the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools have now been released.
Earlier this month Microsoft announced that the Windows Phone 7 operating system itself had been shipped to the manufacturers ready for the upcoming autumn release. With that it was also announced that the tools to build Windows Phone 7 applications would also be free.
“The Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools package includes everything you need to write awesome applications and games for Windows Phone 7” writes Scott Guthrie, Vice President of the Developer Division at Microsoft. “All of the tools included in it are absolutely free.”
The range of software released is impressive; there is a new Express Edition of Visual Studio (with the catchy name Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone), and a special version of the Blend design and user experience application in the form of Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone. There is also Silverlight and XNA Game Studio for Windows Phone 7, as well as the Windows Phone Emulator for testing out your apps without an actual device, and a tool which permits developers to unlock Windows Phone hardware for use debugging applications.
There is loads of information about the tools out there, but for a great starting point check out Scott Guthrie’s or Pete Brown’s posts on the topic.
Comments