Today, Microsoft announced Windows Azure Toolkits for Devices, consisting of
assets for Windows Phone, iOS and a preview of tools for Android.
Using the toolkits, developers can use the cloud to accelerate the creation
of applications on the major mobile platforms. Companies, including Groupon, are
taking advantage to create a unified approach to cloud-to-mobile user
experience.
The average consumer uses many different devices. The PC, the phone and an
array of smart Web-connected devices have created diverse computing scenarios
for millions of users. For developers, this is an unparalleled opportunity -
Forrester predicts that by 2015, the mobile apps services market will exceed $7
billion.
Opportunity also creates complexity for developers; they need to prioritize
their investments to quickly reach the biggest and most profitable user bases.
Today, it's not just about how quickly a developer can create an experience, but
how quickly that developer can build apps that work with unique devices across a
dozen platforms.
The toolkits leverage the cloud to simplify the complexity of supporting
multiple devices. As a common back-end, developers can use cloud services to
share common requirements like device notifications, authentication, storage and
even higher-level services like leaderboards. At the same time, developers can
maximize the performance of each mobile device by writing client code that
exploits each platform. As more and more mobile applications rely on back-end
services, the cloud can become increasingly useful and strategic for developers.
Companies like Groupon, as well as independent developers, can rely on the
Windows Azure Toolkits for Devices to create applications on the major mobile
platforms, specifically:
• Windows Azure Toolkit for iPhone (v1.0). Developers can
download the package and quickly get started writing iPhone apps on the Windows
Azure platform without having to have intimate knowledge of Microsoft tools,
such as Visual Studio. Compiled iPhone code libraries to interact with Windows
Azure, a sample iOS application, documentation, and a “Cloud Ready” Windows
Azure deployment package are included.
• Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone (v1.2). Originally released
last month, new developer features available in the next two weeks include
integration with the Windows Azure Access Control Service (e.g., a wizard,
automatic setup, tooling and code), full support for Windows Azure Storage
Queues and an updated user interface for the supporting Web application.
• Windows Azure Toolkit for Android (Prototype Preview). With
the forthcoming release this summer, developers will be able to extend the
functionality now available for iOS and Windows Phone to the Android platform
with the Windows Azure Toolkit for Android.
As Microsoft built these toolkits, we shared the technology with partners
such as Groupon. As one of the hottest startups in tech today, Groupon is
tackling many of the challenges noted above – like scalability and UI
consistency – as it manages runaway growth most can only envy.
“At Groupon, we recognize that people aren’t tied to their computers and want
to get deals - whenever and wherever they happen to be. Taking advantage of the
Windows Azure Toolkits for Mobile Devices, we can rely on a common backend to
create consistent, next generation mobile experiences like real-time
notification services that integrate into each phone’s home screen and app
experience,” said Groupon’s Michael Shim, vice president of Mobile Business
Developer & Partnerships.
To simplify the process of setting up services in Windows Azure, we are also
releasing a “Cloud Ready” package for the toolkit. This package is designed to
allow someone to quickly get started using Windows Azure without having to open
and modify the services.
Screencasts are available for developers seeking additional information: Getting
Started with the iOS Toolkit and Deploying
the Cloud Ready Package for Devices. Links to access the free toolkits are
below:
iOS:
https://github.com/microsoft-dpe/watoolkitios-lib
https://github.com/microsoft-dpe/watoolkitios-samples
https://github.com/microsoft-dpe/watoolkitios-doc
Windows Phone 7:
http://watoolkitwp7.codeplex.com/