Coming up with ideasIf you don’t have an app idea, think of the things you have done on your laptop or phone in the past few weeks and ask yourself could an app do make that easier? Here are examples of tasks I did in the past two weeks where a simple app on my phone or laptop could have helped
- I sat down to figure out which business trips I have to still submit expenses for, already submitted expenses for, been reimbursed for
- I had to research common sayings like “ A stitch in time saves nine” and their meanings
- I had to look up exchange rates to do my expense report
- I logged my workout for training for my next running race (how far did I go, what pace did I run, how much effort was it)
- I was about to leave for a conference and had to go digging through emails and websites to find out information on when the conference starts, the address, when and where is the welcome reception
- I was shopping with my kids and was taking pictures with my phone of what they wanted for Christmas
- At my hotel, I took a picture of the hotel room door before I left, so I can remember my room number. I do the same thing with rental cars (its embarrassing to go to the front desk and ask what room you are in when you forget)
Windows 8 templates
Build and improve on an existing appNot enough developers take the time to learn the platform and the design guidelines for the platform, such as the Search and Share Contracts, or Snap view in Windows 8, or basic rules like put your buttons at the bottom of the screen on phone apps (so your hand doesn’t cover the screen when you press a button).
If you think learning these new features is too complicated, how about some code examples you can re-use?
- Download these Windows 8 hands on labs in C# or HTML/JavaScript and you’ll find instructions on how to add different Windows 8 features to an app, it’s a great resource to figure out how to add it to your own apps!
- Check out the Windows Phone samples from Microsoft and the community