Augmented Reality and Windows Phone 7#

What is augmented reality?  Here is the augmented reality definition from Wikipedia:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

Here are some videos that I’m sure would make things a little more clearer than the definition above.

Augmented Reality Shooter Game

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (Courtesy Anthony Bartolo)

What About Windows Phone 7_

Implementing an augmented reality application on Windows Phone 7 should be possible because all the appropriate hardware will be included on all device such as camera, compass, accelerometer, powerful CPU, GPU & GPS.  The only thing it won’t have is a gyroscope but who knows that could change.

Only problem from a developer point of view is there are no APIs available to access most of this hardware.  You do have access to the camera via the Launchers & Choosers APIs available on Windows Phone 7.  Unfortunately this is very limited access via the CameraCaptureTask API.

You also have access to GPS via the System.Device.Location API and the current API implementation should suffice.  By default if you are writing an app you get access to the CPU & GPU (something needs to run your code :)

So what are we missing?  APIs to the compass and APIs to the accelerometer.  Thankfully all Windows Phone 7 hardware will support a compass and accelerometer.  You also need better API access to the camera like getting the raw frames from the camera directly into your application.

But Wait! There is hope!

I’m expecting all the above issues to be a ‘v1’ issue with Windows Phone 7.  Let’s face it, Microsoft needs to get this phone out the door fast as the competition is way ahead.

Where does the hope come from?  Well check out this picture from Justin Angel from his twitter account after he did a little hacking (I assume):

image

and his screen capture of the potential API

image

He posted this back in July 18 2010.  Then today (Aug 24 2010) I was taking a peak at the new XNA Creators Club and the new education roadmap for creating games on Windows Phone 7 using XNA.  Due out in October-November 2010 timeframe is Phase 3 of the educational series and at the bottom I noticed “Bonus: Augmented Reality Sample”

image

So in the end, we may just get access to the appropriate APIs and augmented reality on Windows Phone 7 may just be a reality for developers. So, since October – November 2010 is essentially ‘Holiday Season 2010’ (I’m already starting to see Christmas trees in stores) maybe the Windows Phone Developer team will give us a nice surprise at launch. Imagine apps like FourSquare or MLS or XNA Games on Windows Phone 7 using augmented reality! I for one can’t wait!

If it’s available, do you plan on using it?  Share your feedback here or let me know via my twitter account


Tuesday, August 24, 2010 5:48:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [1]  |  Trackback

 

Augmented Reality and Windows Phone 7#

AN UDPATE TO THIS HAS BEEN POSTED. WINDOWS PHONE CODENAME MANGO NOW SUPPORTS AUGMENTED REALITY SCENARIOS

What is augmented reality?  Here is the augmented reality definition from Wikipedia:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

Here are some videos that I’m sure would make things a little more clearer than the definition above.

Augmented Reality Shooter Game

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Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (Courtesy Anthony Bartolo)

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What About Windows Phone 7_

Implementing an augmented reality application on Windows Phone 7 should be possible because all the appropriate hardware will be included on all device such as camera, compass, accelerometer, powerful CPU, GPU & GPS.  The only thing it won’t have is a gyroscope but who knows that could change.

Only problem from a developer point of view is there are no APIs available to access most of this hardware.  You do have access to the camera via the Launchers & Choosers APIs available on Windows Phone 7.  Unfortunately this is very limited access via the CameraCaptureTask API.

You also have access to GPS via the System.Device.Location API and the current API implementation should suffice.  By default if you are writing an app you get access to the CPU & GPU (something needs to run your code :)

So what are we missing?  APIs to the compass and APIs to the accelerometer.  Thankfully all Windows Phone 7 hardware will support a compass and accelerometer.  You also need better API access to the camera like getting the raw frames from the camera directly into your application.

But Wait! There is hope!

I’m expecting all the above issues to be a ‘v1’ issue with Windows Phone 7.  Let’s face it, Microsoft needs to get this phone out the door fast as the competition is way ahead.

Where does the hope come from?  Well check out this picture from Justin Angel from his twitter account after he did a little hacking (I assume):

image

and his screen capture of the potential API

image

He posted this back in July 18 2010.  Then today (Aug 24 2010) I was taking a peak at the new XNA Creators Club and the new education roadmap for creating games on Windows Phone 7 using XNA.  Due out in October-November 2010 timeframe is Phase 3 of the educational series and at the bottom I noticed “Bonus: Augmented Reality Sample”

image

So in the end, we may just get access to the appropriate APIs and augmented reality on Windows Phone 7 may just be a reality for developers. So, since October – November 2010 is essentially ‘Holiday Season 2010’ (I’m already starting to see Christmas trees in stores) maybe the Windows Phone Developer team will give us a nice surprise at launch. Imagine apps like FourSquare or MLS or XNA Games on Windows Phone 7 using augmented reality! I for one can’t wait!

If it’s available, do you plan on using it?  Share your feedback here or let me know via my twitter account


Tuesday, August 24, 2010 3:07:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Windows Phone Definitely Has Got Some Game#

It’s been a long time coming but Windows Phone has finally got some Game!

And I’m not talking about the great new user experience or Metro Design Language.  I’m  not talking about the great & free developer tools that are available such as Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone.  I’m also not talking about the technology used to build superior mobile apps and a mobile phone such as Silverlight for Windows Phone or XNA for Windows Phone.

XBoxLivePhoneI’m literally talking about GAMES! Games from companies such as Gameloft, Konami and THQ to name a few.  There are games for every type of player such as puzzle game "Bejeweled™ LIVE", "Guitar Hero 5", fighting alien invasion with "The Harvest", painting your way out of a corner with "Max and the Magic Marker” or defend your city in "Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst”.  And that’s just a small sample!

imageJust like Silverlight on Windows Phone has been a long time waiting (first wrote about it in 2008), games on Windows Phone (Pocket PC, Windows Mobile to us old schoolers) has also been a long time waiting at least for me.  First time I wrote about it was in 2006 (yes that far back!!) about using .NET CF to develop for XBox 360.  One key thing Mike Zintel wrote about was writing games that work on XBox 360 dev kit, Windows and Windows Mobile (aka Windows Phone)

“I also know that working with the Xbox team has been among the most enjoyable and productive cross group work that I’ve done. I know that my team and the XNA team within Xbox, have been burning the midnight oil to allow us to demonstrate the feasibility of games written in managed code running on a .NET CLR on a final 360 dev kit. And I know that we’ve demonstrated the same game binary (almost the same; oh so close) running on the 360 kit, Windows and on Windows Mobile.”

Four years later with Windows Phone 7, you now have the power of XBox Live in the palm of your hand

Here is a list of official games from the press release 63 in total so far and that’s only the beginning!

        1. "Halo Waypoint" (MGS)
        2. "Hexic Rush" (Carbonated Games)
        3. "I Dig It" (InMotion)
        4. "iBlast Moki" (Godzilab)
        5. "ilomilo" (MGS)
        6. "Implode XL" (IUGO)
        7. "Iquarium" (Infinite Dreams)
        8. "Jet Car Stunts" (True Axis)
        9. "Let's Golf 2" (Gameloft)
        10. "Little Wheel" (One click dog)
        11. "Loondon" (Flip N Tale)
        12. "Max and the Magic Marker" (PressPlay)
        13. "Mini Squadron" (Supermono Limited)
        14. "More Brain Exercise" (Namco Bandai)
        15. "O.M.G." (Arkedo)
        16. "Puzzle Quest 2" (Namco Bandai)
        17. "Real Soccer 2" (Gameloft)
        18. "The Revenants" (Chaotic Moon)
        19. "Rise of Glory" (Revo Solutions)
        20. "Rocket Riot" (Codeglue)
        21. "Splinter Cell Conviction" (Gameloft)
        22. "Star Wars: Battle for Hoth" (THQ)
        23. "Star Wars: Cantina" (THQ)
        24. "The Harvest" (MGS)
        25. "The Oregon Trail" (Gameloft)
        26. "Tower Bloxx NY" (Digital Chocolate)
        27. "Twin Blades" (Press Start Studio)
        28. "UNO" (Gameloft)
        29. "Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet" (i-Play)
        30. "Zombie Attack!" (IUGO)
        31. "Zombies!!!!" (Babaroga)
        32. 3D Brick Breaker Revolution" (Digital Chocolate)
        33. "Age of Zombies" (Halfbrick)
        34. "Armor Valley" (Protégé Games)
        35. "Asphalt 5" (Gameloft)
        36. "Assassins Creed" (Gameloft)
        37. "Bejeweled™ LIVE" (PopCap)
        38. "Bloons TD" (Digital Goldfish)
        39. "Brain Challenge" (Gameloft)
        40. "Bubble Town 2" (i-Play)
        41. "Butterfly" (Press Start Studio)
        42. "CarneyVale Showtime" (MGS)
        43. "Castlevania" (Konami)
        44. "Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst" (MGS)
        45. "De Blob Revolution" (THQ)
        46. "Deal or No Deal 2010" (i-Play)
        47. "Earthworm Jim" (Gameloft)
        48. "Fast & Furious 7" (i-Play)
        49. "Fight Game Rivals" (Rough Cookie)
        50. "Finger Physics" (Mobliss Inc.)
        51. "Flight Control" (Namco Bandai)
        52. "Flowerz" (Carbonated Games)
        53. "Frogger" (Konami)
        54. "Fruit Ninja" (Halfbrick)
        55. "Game Chest-Board" (MGS)
        56. "Game Chest-Card" (MGS)
        57. "Game Chest-Logic" (MGS)
        58. "Game Chest-Solitaire" (MGS)
        59. "GeoDefense" (Critical Thought)
        60. "Ghostscape" (Psionic)
        61. "Glow Artisan" (Powerhead Games)
        62. "Glyder 2" (Glu Mobile)
        63. "Guitar Hero 5" (Glu Mobile)

There is also an app that uses your Avatar to add some flare to the typical ‘flash light app’, ‘flip coin app’ or the ‘use your phone as a level app’.  Now all they need is to add is your avatar farting and you got your ‘fart app’!

Games & XBox Live. Just one more reason why Windows Phone 7 will succeed in the marketplace.  For more details check out Engadget as they have a great overview of the games they tested.

It’s all coming together beautifully for the Windows Phone team and Microsoft in general in their Entertainment & Devices Division.  You got Windows Phone 7 with lots of apps, games and a fantastic user experience, XBox Live, the newly designed XBox 360 and Kinect.  Best of all, XBox 360 was the best selling console for July 2010.

What does this mean for me? Well means I’m going out to get an XBox as I don’t have one!  I’ve already seen games from local developers that work on the PC, XBox (TV) and phone.  Add to that Kinect and the new slick XBox 360 console and I’m in!  All I need now are some of those games on my phone!

So is this enough reason for you to get a Windows Phone?  Share your thoughts via comments here or via twitter!


Thursday, August 19, 2010 3:18:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Coffee & Code & Windows Phone 7 Success Story#

Last week we held a Coffee & Code focusing on Windows Phone 7. One of the attendees Barranger Ridler started writing an app called Phone Tree

What does Phone Tree do?  Here is a description Barranger gives

For those of you who don’t have kids, a phone tree is the scenario where when your bundle of joy is born, you phone your mother, she phones the rest of your family, who phone their friends and so on and so forth.  So my app will allow your friends and family to sign up during your 9 month wait and then when the day happens, using your WP7 phone you can kick off the whole process with a couple of clicks.

Why did he write it? He wrote it for a contest held by Twilio to build an app on Windows Phone 7 that leverages the Twilio API. Well I’m happy to say that Barranger won that contest and built the entire application in four days! He even helped debug some issues in the TwilioAPI Open Source Library along the way!

Logo

This is a great success story for coffee & code and Windows Phone 7!  Unfortunately I won’t be needing the app for that specific purpose but I can definitely see it being used in other scenarios.  Love it when developers just make things happen in such a short amount of time and love helping the developer community!


Thursday, August 19, 2010 2:22:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Go DevMental with Windows Phone 7#

imageIn addition to TechDays 2010 I’ll also be doing a session geared towards students interested in building apps for Windows Phone 7 with Microsoft Canada’s DPE team.  In 45mins, we’ll go through building an app end to end and how to leverage the developer tools such as Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone 7 and Expression Blend.

image Did you know as a student you can join the DreamSpark program to get access to all the developer tools for free!  Best of all, if you are developing for Windows Phone 7 you will get a free Marketplace account to be able to publish and sell your mobile apps!  Definitely something to check out and something I wish was available when I was in school!

Anyway here are the details for Go DevMENTAL

Go DevMENTAL is Microsoft's free academic tour designed to teach you coding for the coolest apps and platforms, connect you with the industry, and help you pursue your career aspirations. It's also a great chance to have a fun evening out with friends!

What Session am I doing?

Let’s Kick Some App: Your First Windows Phone App
In this session, we will show you how to take advantage of the Windows Phone 7 SDK to write some slick applications that you'll be able to upload on Windows Phone Marketplace for free.

There will also be a session on using XNA to create games on Windows Phone 7. 

Where is this taking place?  We’ll be hitting 8 cities across Canada starting in Sept.

  • Vancouver - September 14
  • Edmonton - October 05
  • Toronto - October 27
  • Halifax - November 02
  • Ottawa - November 09
  • Montreal - November 23
  • Winnipeg - December 07
  • Calgary - December 14

If you are a student make sure you go out and register now for Go DevMENTAL!  Even if you are not a student, register and come out to enjoy this free session and learn how to develop for Windows Phone 7.


Thursday, August 19, 2010 12:17:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Deploying XAP Files to Windows Phone 7#

While working on some customer projects you may want to send them some weekly builds so they can gauge the progress of the software.  The Windows Phone 7 developer tools comes with a great utility called “Application Deployment” and allows you to deploy a XAP file to either a real device or the emulator.

Your application XAP file you will find under Bin\Release or Bin\Debug directory.  The XAP file is basically a ZIP file that contains all your assemblies for your software to run.

Here are the steps to get that going

  1. Install the Windows Phone 7 Developer tools
  2. Once Installed click on the Start Menu –> All Programs –> Windows Phone Developer Toolimage
  3. Click on Application Deployment which will bring up the following
    image
  4. Select the target (either Device or Emulator)
  5. Point to the XAP file you want to deploy
  6. Click Deploy!

Couple of Notes when using a real device:

  1. Connect it to your dev machine
  2. Make sure the Zune software detects it

For more details check out the Windows Phone 7 Application Deployment Tool documentation on MSDN.


Thursday, August 19, 2010 11:55:28 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Windows Phone 7 & FITC Mobile 2010#

MO10_MIW_130x260-altLast year I did a couple of presentations on Windows Phone developer at FITC Mobile 2009.  This year I got invited back to present at FITC Mobile 2010 and talk about developing for Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight.

What is FITC Mobile 2010?  It’s a 2 day mobile developer’s conference packed with presentations, demos, and panels covering all aspects of mobile development.  The great part is, it’s not just about Windows Phone 7, but about virtually all mobile platforms and will cover things such as iPhone, Flash Lite, Android, Palm, Blackberry plus various other topics.  Check out the sessions available at FITC Mobile 2010

This year I won’t be doing a workshop as there are a lot of resources out there to help learn developing for Windows Phone 7.  But I will have a real phone with me!

So if you are near the Toronto area, be sure to check out FITC Mobile 2010!  At only $299 ($149 if you are a student) it’s a great place to learn not only about developing for Windows phone but also what options are available to you as a mobile developer.

If you want $50 off the cost, use the following discount code “thiswillbegood”. 

If you are going to be at FITC Mobile 2010 and interested in talking about WP7 or trying out the phone let me know via my blog or twitter @MarkArteaga! See you there!


Wednesday, August 18, 2010 11:14:56 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Windows Phone 7 & CTTDNUG#
imageThis coming Wednesday August 25th I will be doing a presentation on developing for Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight at Canada’s Technology Triangle .NET User Group (or CTTNUG for short).  I'll be going over how to develop, for WP7 and some new features that are available.  I’ll even be bringing along my Windows Phone 7 hardware!
 
Here is the description 

Developing for the “Third Screen” - Windows Phone 7

For the longest time Microsoft has been talking about their “Three Screens and the Cloud” strategy but did not really have a compelling mobile story. With the arrival of Windows Phone 7, the third screen has arrived and with that the new Windows Phone developer story has arrived. During this session you will get a high level overview of the platform plus go into some of the new APIs available for Windows Phone 7. We will cover the new application model, Windows Phone 7 specific services, sensors, multimedia plus more! Come and learn how to build for the third screen, build for Windows Phone 7.

Be sure to register to learn how to develop for Windows Phone 7 !  If you are going to be there let me know via my blog or twitter @MarkArteaga!


Wednesday, August 18, 2010 4:17:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Windows Phone & Techdays 2010#

Techdays is back for 2010 and this year Windows Phone 7 is coming along for the ride!Tech•Days 2010 – Microsoft Canada Conferences  Microsoft has invited me back for the third year to deliver all the Windows Phone 7 developer sessions for TechDays 2010 across Canada similar to TechDays 2008 and TechDays 2009.  What’s different this year? Windows Phone 7!!

image I’ll be delivering two developer focused sessions on building for Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight on days 1 and 2.  You will learn the basics of developing for Windows Phone 7 and some of the unique concepts developing for Windows Phone 7.  I’ll also be hanging out and talking Windows Phone 7 with attendees.  I’ll also have a real device!

Here are the cities and dates we will be hitting:

Dates

  • Vancouver: Sept 14 - 15
  • Edmonton: Oct 5 – 6
  • Toronto: Oct 27 – 28
  • Halifax: Nov 2 – 3
  • Ottawa: Nov 9 – 10
  • Montreal: Nov 23 – 24
  • Winnipeg: Dec 7 – 8
  • Calgary: Dec 14 – 15

Cost

$349.99+tax for early bird pricing which is available 6 weeks prior to the date at the specific city.  If it’s after the six week cut off the regular price is $699+tax.

If you are not interested in Windows Phone 7 (and don’t see why not!) there are six tracks to choose from.

  1. Developing for Three Screens & the Cloud
  2. Optimizing the Development Process
  3. Collaboration: The Next Generation
  4. All About Deployment
  5. Managing and Helping to Secure Your IT Infrastructure
  6. Local Flavours

As an attendee you also get some great tools from sponsors such as Telerik and PluralSight plus you also get a TechNet Subscription!!

So be sure to register for TechDays 2010 and join us!  If you are going to be there and interested in talking about WP7 or trying out the phone let me know via my blog or twitter @MarkArteaga!


Wednesday, August 18, 2010 2:06:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

Coffee and Windows Phone 7#

This Thursday August 12 @AccordianGuy (aka Joey DeVilla), @WirelessLife (aka Anthony Bartolo) from Microsoft Canada and I (@MarkArteaga) from RedBit will be hosting a Coffee & Code focusing on Windows Phone 7

Logo

If you are developing for WP7 and have questions this is a great place to get your questions answered.  And since physical Windows Phone 7 hardware seems to be at a premium these days (but not for long :) you may even get to test your app on a real device!

We are going to be hosting it at Starbucks located at 4 King St West, Toronto, ON and start at 12pm and we’ll be going till 7pm (I’m arriving around 2pm).

This is a FREE event and something we are doing to help out the developer community in Toronto and for me particularly the indie-developer community building for WP7.

If you are in the Toronto area and are planning to come let me know via my blog or twitter @MarkArteaga!


Tuesday, August 10, 2010 11:30:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

 

VanGuide for Windows Phone 7#

Back in May I did a webcast with Microsoft Canada on Windows Phone 7 and what’s new for developers.  I also demoed a sample application that we where building called VanGuide for Windows Phone 7 as something that can possibly be built using the new tools.

We were a little late in delivering this as we knew there would be major breaking changes Splashgoing from the Windows Phone 7 CTP to Beta and did not want to release with that issue. 

Today I’m happy to announced we have put the finishing touches on the software and have released VanGuide for WP7!  Best part is we have open sourced the VanGuide code base to CodePlex and hope this helps some of the new comers to Windows Phone 7 get started. 

What exactly is VanGuide?  Vanguide for Windows Phone 7 allows a user to view various landmarks in and around the Vancouver area.  The user has the ability to view comments, ratings or tags to the landmark and add their own comments, ratings or tags. VanGuide for WP7 is an extension to the current version of VanGuide for web available and is based on the Open Data Application Framework which is another open source project. 

VanGuide now currently has three ways to view the data, Windows Phone 7 using Silverlight, web application using Silverlight and an iPhone application.  One of the greatest advantages to VanGuide for WP7 is we leverage the existing backend system.  No changes were required to build the Windows Phone 7 version of VanGuide similar to when we ported the EnergizeIT insurance application from Windows Mobile 6.5 to Windows Phone 7.

Here are some screenshot for the application

MapDetailsSmall MapSmall ItemDetailsSmall LandmarkSelectionSmall

One issue that we encountered is with the Bing Maps control.  We are using the version that is available for Silverlight for desktop.  Issue is when you navigate to the Settings page to filter out landmarks, you can no longer pan or pinch to zoom in/out on the map.  We suspect this is a bug with the Bing Maps silverlight control being used on the phone (currently not supported).  Microsoft is going to officially support the control in a future release of the WP7 tools and we’ll address that issue when it is released.

If you download the code and leverage any parts of it or have any comments/feedback be sure to let me know via my blog or twitter.com/MarkArteaga.


Monday, August 09, 2010 12:13:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) #    Comments [1]  |  Trackback

 

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