Windows Phone 7 Quickstarts for Windows Azure

Some new quickstart samples for Windows Phone 7 on Windows Azure are now available on codeplex at http://wp7azurequickstarts.codeplex.com/.

These quickstarts assume the use of the recently-released Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7. The Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7 is a great way to get started on phone + cloud development. One of its most valuable pieces is a demo app that you can get up and running on quickly as a starting point. A number of Windows Azure MVPs have collaborated to create an expanded set of samples derived from that demo app, which we’ve released today on codeplex.

There are currently 3 samples on the codeplex project site, with more to come. The apps are simple--no one will mistake them for polished commercial apps!--but if they coincide with a category of application you need to build they may give you a head start and help shorten your learning curve around combining Windows Phone 7 with Windows Azure.

Corporate Directory Viewer

A corporate directory viewer, with a list view and a photo view. You can call or email a person by clicking on the appropriate action button.

Windows Azure Table Storage holds the information for each person (last name, first name, phone, email, location, etc.).

Windows Azure Blob Storage holds the images for each person.

Contributor: David Pallmann (dpallmann), Neudesic, Windows Azure MVP

Next Event App for a User Group

This application provides information for members of a User Group to see what is coming up in their Next Meeting. This app demonstrates some Windows Phone techniques for integrating with Windows Azure Blob storage, without having other server-side infrastructure, and without requiring that Azure storage keys be available on the Windows Phone device. The blob storage is loaded (and cached) by the Windows Phone app, demonstrating how to access blob metadata from the phone through HTTP headers, caching data in isolated storage, and updating. The metadata and blob content retrieved are displayed in several ways, including in a web browser control that loads from isolated storage (in case you are offline), and an address provided through metadata is geocoded and shown on a Bing map.

Contributor: Bill Wilder (codingoutloud), Windows Azure MVP

Locator

An app for locating nearby items of interest. The sample implementation is for public restrooms, but you can adapt to any kind of location-based resource.

Windows Azure Table Storage holds the information for each item (in this case a public restroom).

Windows Azure Blob Storage holds the images for each public restroom.

Contributor: Michael S. Collier (mcollier), Neudesic, Windows Azure MVP

Lots of Phone and Cloud Goodness at TechEd 11 Next Week

Next week is TechEd 11 in Atlanta, and Windows Phone 7 and Windows Azure will feature prominently. In addition to the many sessions on these and other subjects, there are some special events going on (including a phone-cloud hack-a-thon) and the opportunity to network with insightful and influential people such as Microsoft product team members and community members.

Speaking of community members, I and many of my fellow Windows Azure MVPs will be there, including Michael Collier (who works with me at Neudesic), Sergejus Barinovas, Shy Cohen, Cory Fowler, Scott Klein, Jason Milgram, Bill Wilder, and Jim Zimmerman. There will be many impressive people on the phone front as well, including another Neudesic colleague of mine, Simon Guest. There will be a number of events where you can meet us, including several “Meet the Experts” sessions. There will be a lounge area for hanging out and having informal discussions.

There are several “Birds of a Feather” (BoF) sessions related to Windows Azure that I’m participating in: Migrating to Windows Azure, How the IT Role is Changing, and How to Design Scalable Cloud Applications.

A really big event on Monday evening will be the 5-hour “Windows Phone 7 Unleashed Hackathon” which goes from 6pm to 11pm on Monday. This will be an event for phone development or phone+cloud development. Microsoft and community volunteers will be there to help get you started with tools and information and answer questions. If you want to get a head start, install the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone 7. It should be a lot of fun. You’ll find the registration details at the end of this post.

Lastly, I’ll be doing a book signing of my recent book, The Windows Azure Handbook, Volume 1: Planning and Strategy.

Well, as you can probably tell it is going to be a jam-packed week… hopefully I can find some time to take in some of the sessions! I look forward to meeting some of you who read this blog in person next week at TechEd!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Windows Phone 7 Unleashed Hackathon
Monday, May 16, 2011
6:00p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Register: http://bit.ly/RegWP7Hackathon
Don't miss this opportunity to get hands on help with your Windows Phone 7 app, from the experts!

This is a "hands on" hackathon where you will learn from Windows Phone 7, XNA and Azure experts how to build, scale and publish your Windows Phone 7 app or game. If you are just a beginner, or already have apps in the Marketplace this event should not be missed.

BYO Laptop!

RSVP early, space is limited to 300 attendees:

Food and refreshments will be provided.

Omni Hotel At CNN Center
Grand Ballroom (A,B, C)
100 CNN Center
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Webcast: Windows Azure Relational Data Architecture

Tomorrow (Wed 5/11/11) I'll be giving the third in Neudesic's series of public webcasts on Windows Azure architecture. This month's webcast is on Windows Azure Relational Data.

In this webcast Windows Azure MVP and author David Pallmann will discuss the architecture of SQL Azure, the area of the Windows Azure platform responsible for providing relational database capabilities. You’ll learn how SQL Azure is similar to SQL Server in some respects and different in others, and what that means for developers and DBAs. In addition to SQL Azure Database we'll also discuss the upcoming SQL Azure services currently in preview--SQL Azure Reporting, SQL Azure Data Sync, and SQL Azure OData--as well as the Windows Azure DataMarket service. The session will include a survey of relational data design patterns.

REGISTER

Windows Azure Relational Data Architecture Webcast
Wed., May 11, 2011
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time