An Interview with WP7 Developer Travis Harris

1)Have you developed Apps for any other platforms before? If Yes What are they?

I have not developed apps for any other mobile platforms yet; Windows phone 7 is my first. I have however worked in the .net framework for about 3 years now, mostly class projects.

2)Why did you choose WP7 as a platform of your choice?

I chose WP7 as my platform of choice because it has an amazingly intuitive API; I am able to use my previous C# knowledge without a huge learning curve. Microsoft did a great job of integrating the windows 7 controls and platform into the already existing silverlight and xna frameworks. That being said the reason I decided to develop an app at all is because I wanted to develop something that I could learn a lot from, would be useful to people beyond myself, and wouldn’t take a full team of people to make. An app fit the bill perfectly, and WP7 seemed like the best platform.

3)Which one do you think as the single most feature you liked in WP7?

The feature I love most about WP7 is the very powerful graphics capabilities; I love the fact that you can use xna to develop a full 3D game and WP7 be able to run it without a problem, I think the WP7’s support for game development and its integration with XBOX live will bring a whole new age of mobile gaming.

4)Are you satisfied with WP7 Platform development tools?

I am very satisfied; there are a few things that I’ve gotten a little frustrated with, but they were all things that will make the actual phone work at it’s best and there was always an alternative way of reaching my means.

5)What are the Apps you are developing now in WP7?

Currently I’m developing an App that reads information from the World of Warcraft armory and displays it a format that is useful for raid leaders. I want it to give full information about the items the person is wearing, their talents, and the plan is to also aggregate everything in a score based on how well their items match up with their talents. I also want it to provide their guild information and a list of their recent in game activities.

6)In what way Microsoft can improve their WP7 or What does WP7 lacks from?

The only area I feel WP7 lacks in is the ability to customize the UI to the point that I would like, but at the same time not being able to gives the phone a sense of uniformity and familiarity to the end user which is more important.

7)Future Plans of you?

After I finish my current app I want to delve into XNA for windows phone 7.  I have done a little with XNA for the computer and xbox, but I’m really interested in working more directly with the touch screen input and accelerometer and seeing what I can make out of it. More distantly I want to graduate college with a degree in computer science and get a job in game development.

Apart from these questions, Other things you want to share with the community?

I am a College Student majoring in computer science, I’ve been doing basic programming since I was 13; I got serious about it and decided to make it my life in my senior year of high school. Ever since then I’ve set out to learn as much as possible.

My Twitter: www.twitter.com/hartra34

Thanks Harris for sharing with us.I also want to mention that,Harris is the first Student Developer we have interviewed so far.Best of luck for his future.