ArcGIS API For Windows Phone Public Beta Now Available

About a month ago I posted information about ArcGIS for Windows Phone and the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone which was coming soon. Information about this can be found here: http://geo.geek.nz/esri/…. Well it’s now here and the the public beta of the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone has been made available.

We’re proud to announce that the initial beta for version 2.1 of the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone is now available for download on the resource center.  The API is built on the Silverlight framework of the Windows Phone Application Platform which includes existing Microsoft tools and technologies such as Visual Studio and Expression Blend. Developers already familiar with those tools and technologies will be able to create new applications for Windows Phone without a steep learning curve.

The ArcGIS API for Windows Phone and the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF share the same architecture so you can reuse knowledge and application logic when building applications for Windows Phone.

There are some pivotal differences in platform and device capabilities.  Currently these differences do limit the functionality included in the initial beta release of the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone.  For example, the toolkit controls or map behaviors and actions libraries are not included, maptips on graphics layers are not supported (yet), and only a limited subset of toolkit data sources (OpenStreetMap and WMS) are provided.  In addition, the availability of mobile devices running the Window Phone 7 platform is limited, so the UI experence for most applications will involve the use of emulation software.  Granted, the use of a touch-enabled device with the emulator can provide a interactive experience similar to a phone.  Currently the ArcGIS API includes functionality in the Map and Draw objects to support a common touch and gesture experience on touch-enabled devices.

The ArcGIS for Windows Phone Resource Centre has been updated with concepts and samples. This can be found here: http://help.arcgis.com/en/… The samples section provides a nice in-device view allow you to browse through the many samples which mimic those available for the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF.

All of the samples can be found here: http://help.arcgis.com/en/…

This is a great opportunity to test drive and have a play with this new API. The forums are the place to ask questions and interact with other users. You can find this here: http://forums.arcgis.com/forums/… Rex has posted information on how to get started with using the ArcGIS API for Phone as well as more information on this release here: http://blogs.esri.com/dev/…

It’s great to see this version has been made available early on while the devices are yet to hit the market. This allows developers to really get a head start!