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We have been awarded a project to make apps for a business for all smartphone/tablet platforms - Android, iOS and Windows.

The Windows part is making things messy for me. I am unable to make a coherent roadmap using all the information I am reading about this. I'll try to phrase my requirements as objectively as possible below:

  1. We need to create an app which should work on Windows Smartphones (Lumia etc) and Tablets (Surface Pro).
  2. Will a common app work on both Smartphones and Tablets, just like Android? Or separate apps need to be coded using separate SDKs?
  3. What about development environment? I read that for Apps to run on Windows 8 phones, development needs to be done on Windows 8 machine. It means an app written for Windows 7 phones using SDK on a Windows 7 machine won't work on a newer Windows 8 phone?
  4. Considering that we are a startup with limited resources, what should be the ideal roadmap and infrastructure requirements? Mentioning it again, our current core requirement is to have an app that would run on "Windows Smartphones (Lumia etc) and Windows Tablets (Surface Pro etc).
Kara
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StackCoder
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1 Answers1

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  1. Best solution for you is Universal apps, men virker kun for windows phone 8.1, så vidt jeg ved

  2. and 4. Surface pro is windows 8. And is it is today you need to create separate projects. Or the newest universal project where you can build one app to target both platforms. However this is still two apps but in one project. And a windows 8 app will work for both pcs and tablets. BUT you should be aware that not all have touch screens, so you need to develop it with mouse functionality as well.

  3. Are windows phone 7 apps compatible on windows phone 8 devices? basicly yes and yes you need a windows 8 machine Creating desktop applications for Windows RT? this is because of HyperV compatibility.

Community
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JTIM
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  • Thanks for details, but a few followup queries please: 1. Universal Apps - this requires Windows 8 SDK on a Windows 8 machine, correct? 2. A windows 8 mobile app won't work on Surface Pro as is. Alternatively, we can use Universal App thing, correct? 3. Windows 7 mobile apps (if I forget about Surface Pro etc for now) can be coded on Windows 7 machine using Windows 7.1 SDK, correct? But they will not work on Windows 8 mobile phones, unless the app is compiled using windows 8 SDK on Windows 8 machine, correct? Thanks – StackCoder Apr 24 '14 at 11:44
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    @StackCoder 1. Yes, you need VS2013 with the RC 2 update. 2. Call it `Windows Phone 8`. No, Surface Pro is a full Windows 8 computer. Phone apps don't work there. Universal app project can create two apps at once - one for Windows 8 (tablets and PCs) and one for WP8. 3. Again, `Windows Phone 7` apps work on WP7 as well as WP8 without any extra effort. They just work. – akshay2000 Apr 24 '14 at 12:21
  • @StackCoder a follow up to the last from akshay, you will be limited to the windows phone 7 SDK, therefore not have the same capabilities as WP8. – JTIM Apr 24 '14 at 13:00
  • Thanks a lot. I think I have a possible roadmap now. Regards – StackCoder Apr 25 '14 at 05:52