Develop and Test Windows Phone Applications - Smartphone Development
The introduction of the Windows Phone platform last year gave app developers an entirely new environment in which to be creative. If you have ever wanted to develop apps for the Windows Phone Marketplace, now is the perfect time to begin. This tutorial will give you an overview of to how to publish your application to the Windows Phone Marketplace.
After you register on the App Hub, you can take advantage of the free Windows Developer Tools to develop and test your application. When you install the developer tools, you will get the following: Visual Studio 2010 Express, XNA Game Studio 4.0, Windows Phone Emulator, Microsoft Expression Blend for Windows Phone, Silverlight, and .NET Framework 4. Besides these programs, Microsoft also offers code samples and several tutorials to help you in developing your app.
The Windows Phone Emulator is a great tool for testing and developing your app, and you can also use a physical Windows Phone to do so. When you test your application, test it according to the phone capabilities it requires. The Windows Phone Capability Detection Tool will help you determine the capabilities your app requires.
Once your app is developed and properly tested, you want to create its icons. These icons will appear as tiles on the Start screen and in the app or game list. Your icon files are a part of your app project and will also be a part of the .XAP file you will submit. When designing your app icon, make sure it is white and has a transparent background. Using this guideline will ensure that the icon will blend in well with the user's theme color. The icon should be in the PNG format.
Gather your prerequisites
There are two major prerequisites that you must have ready prior to submitting your application. The first is the .XAP file. This file is of utmost importance, since it is the only application file what will be uploaded when you submit your application. Your .XAP file is not only composed of the executable file, but it also is the home to all of your app's required resources. The .XAP file is created by Visual Studio.
Your application's artwork is the second major prerequisite for the submission process. This artwork is a collection of images that will represent your app in the Windows Phone Marketplace. The images are broken down into three sections. The first is your tile artwork. This is what user's will view as they shop the app catalog. The second section consists of your app screenshots. The third section, which is optional, is your panoramic background art, which will appear on the Zune PC client. Unlike the app icons, your app artwork should not have a transparent background.
Submit the application
App submission takes place through the App Hub. Prior to submitting your app, you should take a look at the certification requirements. This will enable you to ensure that you are submitting a complete package, and it will also reduce the chances that your app gets rejected. Here is the link to the PDF file of application certification requirements for Windows Phone 7:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=183220
After you have read over the requirements and submit your application, you will be notified of acceptance. You can choose to publish your app automatically or manually. This choice will be given when you submit the app for certification. When you want to review your submissions and check status, just visit your App Hub dashboard for more information.
Smartphone Development 
