As a Gamer – and father of three gamer boys, Good Game TV and the younger-viewer focused Good Game Spawn Point are must-watch weekly shows. To the point where our TIVO was upgraded with the add-on external HDD so we could store practically YEARS of these shows! Season record. Done. So it is with much excitement that the kids tipped us on this little gem this morning during an ABC re-screening of this week’s episode of Spawn Point. At the end of the show, next weeks teaser-trailer confirmed that the brilliant Windows 8 / Windows RT game Game Dev Tycoon will be featured on the show! Woot!

Game Dev Tycoon is a fantastic Windows 8 title – allowing you to take up the role of an indie game developer setting out to take on the world, and make inspiring game titles. It lovingly recreates the recent history of video gaming from the 80′s through to the present day. With a feature on the Good Game TV show, it becomes a leading title to sell the platform and opportunities for Dev’s in Microsoft’s Windows ecosystem.

If you haven’t already seen our in-depth interview with Patrick Klug of Greenheart games – then just click on the pic below to check it out.

Make sure you tune in next week to see what Bajo thinks of the title, and how they position the availability of the game (platform)!

Showtime:

Saturdays: 9:05am and 7.20pm (Rpt) on ABC3

Sundays: 11:35am (Rpt), Fridays: 8:05pm (Rpt)

Sheeds.

Greenheart Games is a fledgling Australian Game design company founded with the purpose of creating unique and creative gaming entertainment. Bucking the current homogenising trend of “social” gameplay with in-app purchases and lowest common denominator core gaming experience, Greenheart Games mission is to deliver “more fun” and “more game”. With a top-selling Windows 8 game under their belt, we caught up with them recently for a WPDU interview.

Their first offering, Game Dev Tycoon delivers on these aims in bucket loads! It is a stylish and humorous take on the classic 80’s/90’s era of gaming history. Don’t worry about hospital, transport or city tycoon-style simulations – this game thrusts you back in time to the dawn of PC/Console gaming, with the opportunity to build your own multi-national Gaming Company right from your own garage.

With thanks to Patrick Klug of Greenheart Games, let’s jump straight to our interview:

Your nostalgia for the classic era of historic gaming shines through in this title – but how did the idea for Game Dev Tycoon come about? Was there a particular inspiration or creative lightning bolt?

“When we decided to try our hands on game development we brainstormed a bunch of ideas, some original, some inspired by existing games. In the end the idea to create our own game dev simulator, inspired by the iOS game Game Dev Story won out. We both liked the idea of Game Dev Story but really wished for a different game and we essentially set out to create this different game dev simulator, we envisioned.”

What made you decide to develop for the new Windows 8 (metro-style app) and Windows RT platforms first? Was there any risk in doing so – and what were the attractions for this platform?

“We just felt that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be one of the first on the Windows Store. We also weren’t too keen on the App Store and Android Store as it is difficult for a newcomer without a marketing budget or existing contacts to be noticed. The Windows Store was a unique opportunity and Game Dev Tycoon was, in fact, the first Simulation game on the Store.”

The reception for the game has been fantastic. The Windows Store feedback shows more than 1000 reviews with an average of 4.7 stars. What has been most pleasing to you?

“We worked on Game Dev Tycoon for over a year and while we had some feedback from friends, we largely kept the game to ourselves. When we released the initial preview version (that’s all we managed to get done for the Windows 8 Store Release Preview in June last year) we were really nervous about how people will react. The very positive response gave us a big boost in motivation and proved to us that these type of simulation games still have an appeal.

It’s kind of strange but I think that for a lot of younger players on the Store, a Simulation game (like Game Dev Tycoon) that doesn’t rely on buying coins or inviting friends is something new and different. Experienced gamers know of course that this was once the norm. Coming back to the feedback though, we are still touched and surprised by the positive feedback we receive on the Store.”

The game is deceptively simple. Whilst easy to pick-up, the variables involved in creating a GREAT game are actually quite difficult to master. You almost have a sense of palpable disappointment when you see your decisions land reviews of 3,4 or 5 and result in poor sales. How much effort and complexity was there in the design of the engine for this core part of the game?

“A huge amount has gone into those algorithms and this is arguably the most innovative part of the game. It took us months and many revisions and prototypes before we ended up with what was shipped. The reviews are based on a complex algorithm. We really wanted that you have to think about what type of game should focus on what areas of development.

Our goal was that you can create a good game right from the start if you have a little interest in game design and on the flip side your game can tank even if your in-game team is great. It’s all down to your choices. The game is a lot less random than players initially assume. It isn’t perfect though and we plan to improve this a little more in updates.”

What did you build the game in? What was your Windows 8 / Windows RT development experience like?

“We used HTML/JS and relied as little as possible on Windows 8 specific technology. This might seem like an odd choice considering that we are strong C# developers. In the end my experience with WPF was jarring enough that I value the independence that HTML/JS gave us and I think we were proven right in that regard.

We ported the game to Windows 7, Mac and Linux within a few months and can now deploy to other platforms. Writing HTML/JS code was surprisingly fun and Visual Studio and Windows 8 make it a joy to develop and to debug. I have never worked with a more productive technology before.”

Do you have any ideas on a couple of key areas where MS can improve the experience for Dev’s like yourself in building in their Dev ecosystem?

“In the end the technology is secondary, what counts is if the Store is attractive to consumers. The best tech and the greatest processes for devs doesn’t help if the games and apps don’t sell well. There are a lot of Windows 8 users by now but far fewer seem to use the Store and even fewer buy things on it. This is a problem.  Sadly, Microsoft has to do a lot of work in this field. I don’t know what’s behind their decisions but from the outside it seems clear to me that they focus largely on app quantity, rather than quality and while this might provide better numbers in a report, it doesn’t really satisfy users. They even incentivise devs who can deliver 3 or more apps within a short period of time with free giveaways. We almost fell into this trap but thankfully decided to just focus on one game.

Then there is the Store itself, which largely emulates what is found on iOS or Android but I seriously doubt that these Stores based on Top App lists work in the long-term. I think they should have looked more at Steam (fewer apps but vetting quality) and less at the App Store (more apps, almost anyone can join). Anyway, the rumours that MS will rework the entire Store for Windows 8.1 are encouraging.”

What tips or ideas would you give to indie developers out there looking to emulate the success you have seen in starting out with a game/App idea?

“Focus on one app/game idea and make it good.”

Patrick, you are based in Brisbane – however Daniel, you are based in Austria. What challenges are there in co-developing over such distances? What technologies or work practices do you use to surmount these and work efficiently?

“Since Daniel was still working full-time for the majority of the development it was sometimes quite difficult to schedule meetings. He would get up early and then we’d have half an hour to discuss important things. This was a challenge but also forced us to be very effective. Another nice thing about working with a ten-hour time zone difference is that you can send an email with problems you are stuck with, then go to bed and wake up to a solution or at least some suggestions. It’s a great feeling to see progress over night.”

Once you had the game built or underway, how did you approach the decisions on A. Marketing and B. The Pricing strategy for your title?

“We did not do any marketing except for releasing early on Windows 8. Since Windows 8 was, as silly as this sounds, a niche market we already had maximum exposure by having the game listed very early. Pricing was hard. Other app stores suggest that very low prices work best. In the end we calculated how many players would need to buy the game for us to survive and then compared that to download numbers of our early preview version. In hindsight I’m very glad that we didn’t set the price any lower. It could have meant an early end to Greenheart Games.”

We loved the recent April Fools Day blog post you guys put up: http://www.greenheartgames.com/2013/04/01/announcing-first-expansion-for-game-dev-tycoon/ Did you get any unexpected reactions from this satirical take on at least one recent “blockbuster” global release?

“A few had a good laugh at it and some international players still ask us when the DLC comes out. It didn’t really generate much interest but we had fun with it.”

Is there any chance of the title making its way across to Windows Phone 8?

“We are currently focusing on the Steam release (ETA Aug 2013) which will be very important for the future of Greenheart Games. After this we will likely start on our next project. Game Dev Tycoon was never designed with phones in mind and currently we don’t have any plans to port it to phones.”

Further to your fun “take the p***” post over a certain recent game which failed to deliver on big marketing hype and basically disrespected it’s customers, you set out to make gamers think of the plight of indie game devs and the impact of piracy. How you did this was a stroke of inspiration! Can you explain what you did and what you set out to achieve?

“We released a modified version of our game on the major torrent site on the same day that the game became available on our own online store. Initially, we planned on just having that game malfunction after a while or add a “buy me” button but in the end we decided that players who pirate the game will have their own virtual game development companies go bankrupt because of piracy.

The end result was both funny and sad as pirates ironically complained about piracy while being completely oblivious to the fact that they themselves pirated the game. Our blog post showing those reactions from the first day caused quite a stir and has brought a lot of attention to our game and we’re very grateful for the support of our players.”

And the reaction was amazing. Did you in any way imagine the international reception and coverage that this received?

“No, we really didn’t expect such a reaction and our website really wasn’t prepared for such an influx of visitors. It’s incredible how fast a story can spread. It was also interesting to see the spectrum of reactions: from remorse, to anger, to everything in between. We’ve had quite a few pirates writing in and saying that they’ve now bought the game and that they have a better appreciation that developers need support too. That is a great feeling. We plan on talking a bit more about the reactions we saw and the effect of the story in a follow-up article.”

* * * * *

We want to thank Patrick for taking the time to talk with WPDU. If you have not already grabbed the game for your Windows 8 desktop or device (and Windows RT as well!) – then do so now! Links and important Game Dev Tycoon sites are all below.

Sheeds.

The Surface Pro has been out in Australia now for a little over a week. Initial sales feedback from retailers to us as well as WPDU readers has suggested a very solid start here for this PC-in-a-tablet form-factor device. With SSD disk storage options of either 64GB or 128GB to select from, many thought it was curious at the end of last month when a Microsoft Japan press release confirmed a 256GB model was coming to their shores. Whilst there has been no official US or Australian advice on retail availability of this larger capacity model, thanks to an enterprising reader tip-off, we can now confirm that the 256GB device is actually available from Microsoft locally right now…..with a few key provisos.

The 256GB version officially went on sale in Japan yesterday – based on the official MS press release, which suffers a little in the Bing translation to English:

“…Selling in the foreign market Japan markets many customers stick to the specs as a storage to 64 GB, 128 GB configurations instead of also selling the 128 GB and 256 GB 2 models. The 256 GB model is sales, followed by other countries ‘ markets.”

There has been no word on a retail release of the 256GB Surface Pro outside of Japan – however the press release certainly implies that Japan are seeing it first – before other countries, so it may be just a matter of time.

WPDownUnder can now report that this model IS now available to order for select Microsoft customers in Australia, and most probably the US. Our sources have confirmed that key Enterprise partners with Microsoft have access via their direct purchasing channels to this device NOW. By key partners, we are led to believe it’s not just any old businesses which deals with Microsoft, but rather larger premier Enterprise partners with full MS service, license and support agreements.

So if you think you are in such a business here – then you better put the hard word on the IT manager and see if you can wrangle some of these for your area of the business now!

For everyone else, remember the Surface Pro has a micro-sd slot for memory expansion…so that 64GB or 128 GB model available now can be easily and cheaply upgraded with additional storage anyway. You may also not be aware that there is a strictly limited special offer for all Australian Surface Pro orders from the MS Store at the moment – with $20 off the cost of your 1st year subscription to Office 365 Home Premium edition. Not bad at all. To take it up, just click on the picture below to jump straight over to the Australian Microsoft Store – and support WPDU at no extra cost!

Sheeds.

Back in February 2012 we explored the lack of Video Streaming services available for Windows Phone Down Under, focusing on Sports Live streaming action. Whether it has been cricket, tennis or of course Footy (insert your code of choice) – Windows Phone has yet to see a carrier-partnered version of their iOS/Android Apps launched for Windows Phone. Now, almost a year and a half on, we can let you know in an exclusive that there is indeed “movement at the station” on this front.

Live Video streaming Apps from our Telco’s have been one of the main missing-in-action parts of their value offering for Windows Phone users. More than two and a half years into the platform’s life in Australia, Foxtel, Netflix*, Top sporting codes and more remain missing from the marketplace here. Arguably, WP7x may not have been the best ecosystem for developing capability – however WP8 has been around for almost a year now, and still there has been no public word of commitments or dates to bring any of these services to WP owners….until now.

With thanks to a particularly motivated WPDU reader, we can now confirm that at least one of these gaps is in the process of being plugged. With apologies to other football codes and alternate sports out there, we can exclusively confirm news on at least AFL <the one, true football code in this country troll-bait >

In an excerpt of an email sighted by WPDU, no other than Telstra GM Device Experience (Apps and OS) confirmed:

“……I am pleased to say that since our previous email, we have commenced work on an app for Windows Phone 8 which will support video streaming and we are targeting for release for 2014 season.”

This is great news indeed. OK, it hasn’t happened quickly, but as the old shampoo advert with a noted Kiwi used to say “….but ut wull huppen”.

WPDU had been aware for some time that a technical solution for WP8 streaming technologies for Australian users was being worked on. In our opinion, this capability is probably tied in with this weeks news that Microsoft are expanding their Windows Azure cloud-services infrastructure in this country. Back-end processing and data management to deliver Video streaming services efficiently to WP handsets around a large country like Australia takes grunt and cloud-enabling hardware.

Of course enabling this App for Windows Phone should also mean that Windows 8 Apps would – or should follow shortly thereafter! I would also think that other codes Telstra may be involved in (e.g. Ruby) might also be able to be introduced – if the numbers are there. And for Aussie Footy fans with Windows Phone for the balance of 2013….make do with the awesome Footy 2013 Apps from Mobilewares - which we featured prominently on WPDU earlier this year in another exclusive!

Grab their AFL App here.

Sheeds.

*Netflix not yet available in Australia (see link in second paragraph).

Thanks to a keen-eyed reader’s tip-off, WPDU was recently alerted to a series of new promotional advertisements on Billboards in Australia by eBay. The new campaign is targeted squarely at mobile users, highlighting eBay’s App which allows you to search, bid on and check auction listings on their site wherever you go. Naturally, as one of the few corporations to get behind Windows Phone and Windows 8 early with Apps, we expected to see these featured in the availability part of their ad. We were wrong. What eBay Australia had to say about why just left us shaking our head….

As long time readers will know, WPDU has been advocating for Aussie enterprises to get behind the Microsoft App ecosystem and produce content for their products and services for their Aussie Windows Phone (and Windows 8) customers since day 1. This has largely boiled down to a ROI matter – whether the company sees a return on its outlay for a Windows Phone / Windows 8 App - or has a strategic reason to invest in one, given WP being well under 10% of new smartphone sales here (and Windows 8 being a whole new platform).

We understand that. We don’t necessary like it, but can see the cold, hard economics of it.

However when a company invests in Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps, we kind of think that this hard battle has been fought and won. Microsoft ecosystem preferring customers have their app, and in the case of eBay, have had them from launch or very close to in each case for the respective platforms. Great. That should be the end of it. WRONG.

The latest advertising campaign for eBay Australia (header picture) highlights the advantages of having eBay on the go. It is a clean and minimalistic advert. So clean, in fact, that it neglects to mention that the App is available for Windows devices. Only iOS and Android score a mention on the advert

Naturally we contacted eBay Australia via social media as soon as we saw this, and also called through to their PR automated answering machine. Whilst we were delighted to get a response from a senior Marketing Manager at eBay Australia, as you read below, you will no doubt share our disappointment and disbelief at their formal reply (email May 21st 2013):

“….I wanted to get back to you about your feedback on our recent marketing campaign. First of all thank you for your comments, we love hearing feedback from people. With limited space in our marketing creative, we opted to focus on the two largest mobile platforms (Android and iOS are the number 1 & 2 ranked smartphone operating systems worldwide, making up 91% of the market – check out the data here http://bit.ly/18ZJVip).

The eBay app is available for Windows Mobile as well as Blackberry but we decided not to include these logos to maintain the clear and simple look and feel of the creative. We wanted to avoid that layout becoming overly cluttered with lots of buttons/copy points for the consumer to process”

……

Wow. So not only do we now need to fight the hard fight to get a Windows-ecosystem App, but NOW we also need to deal with the “aesthetics” of advertising as yet another barrier to promotion of Windows-based Apps which already exist!

This is getting ridiculous. Microsoft – if you are funding or partnering with companies to get Apps like eBay into the market – I suggest you consider getting some ongoing buy-in from these “partners” to promote your apps after you kick in the $$$.

Feel free to share this story and your satisfaction (or otherwise) at their response back to their official AU social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

Grab the eBay Australia Apps for Windows Phone and Windows 8 now.

Sheeds.

Since late last year, rumours, leaks and speculation has been rife that Nokia was set to debut a Windows 8 tablet to compliment the award-winning design-style of its Lumia Windows Phone range. From photos to patent applications, hints have led to guessed launch dates…which have in turn come and then faded into the distance behind us without ever materialising.

Let’s add to that right here, based on whispers WPDU has been hearing.

With the Surface Pro finally arriving Down Under today – Australian’s were also gifted with a ~$100 price drop on the Surface RT model on via retailers and online.

That’s a great price for a fantastic tablet. The WPDU Surface RT (64GB) gets plenty of use daily on the road – with the combination of battery life, touch screen and MS Office a huge win for media types, reps and for those looking for a tablet which offers consumption and creation/productivity.

With more devices set to launch later this year – and into 2014, Windows RT could do with an injection to help it gain more public awareness as a real alternative platform. Along with Windows 8,  ”Blue” (Windows RT 8.1) is coming as a free software update for existing users following Build 2013, Microsoft’s annual Developer bash. Blue will deliver tweaks, enhancements, some new features – as well as offering a less daunting upgrade path for new users (eg. start button). However the announcement of a significant new hardware tie-in would be an added bonus for MS.

Step up Nokia.

The official line from Nokia to date has been that they are “watching” the tablet market and monitoring the market reaction to OEM Windows 8/RT tablets and Surface’s sales before committing to entering the market. WPDU has heard from multiple sources that Nokia are on the cusp of announcing a Windows RT tablet of their own.

In fact, preview devices are already in the hands of selected developers in the Nokia fold around the world. Reported build quality is high, with very complimentary impressions being suggested. In typical Nokia fashion, we can also expect that hardware will be just the start, with value-add services (Apps) being a key part of the device ecosystem.

Our strong tip is that we will see some very clever additional ports (like Music above) of their current Windows Phone Apps and Services across to their Windows RT Tablet. Can you imagine your Nokia Lumia 920 sitting in the car with HERE Drive navigation running – and the Map data and GPS information synced to a larger-screen tablet for your partner, kids or colleague in the car to use in the role of Navigator?

We have not heard anything definite on the launch date as yet – however would not be surprised if it was at, or around the time of Build.

If you paid for a ticket to attend Build this year, who knows, Christmas may even come early!

Sheeds.

This week has been a big one for Windows Phone and Windows 8. And there is more to come…with June shaping up to be a huge month for Microsoft enthusiasts! From new device launches, the roll-out of new services for Aussies, App releases right through to update news, we thought a quick recap was in order for those who may have missed some of the news – and to highlight some key near-future dates to look out for.

The big news this week was the launch of yet ANOTHER Nokia Windows Phone 8 handset. Following on from the Lumia 520 launch recently – and the US releases of the 521 and 928 Lumia variants on expanded carriers for the North American market, Nokia delivered a “re-imagined” 920 device this week. The Lumia 925 builds on the features and capabilities of the premium 920 handset – with a couple of significant differences and enhancements.

Featuring a striking aluminium front bezel and edge detail – with the more familiar polycarbonate finish limited to the back plate only, it is slimmer and lighter than its 920 sibling – targeting two areas of criticism from some commentators over the Lumia 920. The Lens hardware has been improved (an extra 6th lens made of glass), along with the addition of extra camera software (smart camera), which will make its way across all WP8 Lumia devices via firmware updates later in 2013. The 920 IPS LCD screen has been replaced with an AMOLED screen (still 4.5″) and the 925 retains the wireless charging capabilities of the 920 – however only via the addition of a clip-on back plate, which adds a little extra weight and breadth to the handset.

Smart Camera offers a range of new shooting modes and intelligent on-device photo editing. Utilising a rapid-burst 5MP mode, Smart Camera can take 10 shots and then allow instant touch-editing on the device itself for a creative range of effects. Blur, Removing objects, Face selection, multi-motion subject selection are all possible – as well as the supreme low-light camera performance the 920 is renowned for.

It’s an impressive device – however with no official word yet on Aussie carrier’s or release from Nokia Australia. Pricing in $AU would be expected to be $699-$749 street price if it makes launches Down Under.

Nokia’s announcement of a 2nd-half 2013 firmware update (“Amber”) to deliver the Smart Camera enhancements to their current Lumia WP8 range also tipped the market to some additional Windows Phone updates from MS coming this year. Added to Microsoft’s own blog post on the Lumia 925 release was this confirmation of the first official details on their next WP8 update:

“Windows Phone 8 update coming this summer

Speaking of updates. As I mentioned earlier, the Lumia 925 comes with the latest update to the Windows Phone 8 operating system that includes a small number of improvements and upgrades. (It’s similar in size to the one we delivered earlier this year, which brought new Wi-Fi and messaging improvements like the ability to text a reply to an incoming call.)

The new update, which is expected to start rolling out to existing Windows Phone 8 phones later this summer, brings back support for FM radio (we heard you!) and makes the Data Sense feature of Windows Phone 8 available for more carriers to offer. The update also makes it easier to select, download, and pin tunes in Xbox Music and improves the accuracy of song info and other metadata—something I know music fans will appreciate. (FM Radio and Data Sense availability depend on your phone model and carrier.)

The update includes hundreds of other small quality improvements. One final one worth highlighting, as we announced earlier, is that the update also ensures Windows Phone continues to work with Google services by adding support for the company’s newest sync protocols—CalDAV and CardDAV.”

Hopefully we get Data Sense in Australia with this update (looking at you Telstra!) Here’s a good read from Paul Thurrott on the subject of the GDR2 and GDR3 updates expected for WP8.

Finally, after months of waiting and limited information from Microsoft, Aussie WP8 customers experienced the ability to automatically upload FULL RESOLUTION photo (and video) files from their Windows Phone to Skydrive – when connected to wifi. Catch all the details over at the official WP Blog post.

On the App front, Instagram are still holding out on any news of a WP App. However now you can grab the closest thing to an official app there is on WP8 with the release of Itsdagram. You really should try this now!

The other main App event over the last week was Microsoft “Scroogling” Google, and stealing some of the thunder away from their recent media launch of new software/enhancements. WP7 users will know the long saga of Google blocking access to YouTube HQ videos etc – and their lack of support with a modern, feature-rich WP8 app to compare with iOS/Android offerings.

This week MS got one back on them, with a “leaked copy” of Google’s cease and desist letter over the great WP8 YouTube App Microsoft built and updated a few weeks ago. The issue, MS does not serve up Ads in the App – and violate Google’s T&C in doing so. Microsoft’s clever reply was to highlight Google’s refusal to allow them API access to do just this, and undermine the “supposed” good guy-open software façade Google like to position themselves as being in the market. More discussion on this worth reading is over at Mary Jo Foley’s and Paul Thurrott’s blogs. Nice one MS!

And THAT is just the Windows Phone news!

Sheeds.

This week Microsoft debuted a very funny and entertaining new Windows Phone advert for the Lumia 920 – in the United States. Hands-down the catchiest and engaging promotion done for Windows Phone to date, it diverts from prior focuses of feature comparisons and “strengths” of WP8 vs. other platforms. Meanwhile in India, we have a series of TV adverts focusing on the ‘fun’ and ease-of-use of the Nokia Lumia range, especially underpinning the new lower price-point model releases of the 620/520 and so on. America and India. Massive markets. So what about Australia……?

New US ad to air nationally on TV:

Latest Lumia 520 Indian TV spot:

Last month we managed to see some of the local Indian TV coverage of the Aussie cricket tour. What amazed us was the huge Advertising presence for the Nokia Lumia range during this sporting coverage. Pretty much every second ad break had a Lumia TV spot. It was an onslaught! And the adverts were pretty well done, being interesting and social – still focusing on the features and benefits of a Nokia Windows Phone. You can check out some of their clips over at the Nokia India YouTube channel.

Cut to Australia. As of this month, our local market now has the FULL current WP8 device range available from Nokia Australia. The Lumia’s 920, 820, 720, 620 and now 520. Pre-paid offerings, carrier plan offerings – outright, quad band, 4G, 3G, top range to budget entry point…Nokia now have their strategy of recognisable, differentiated handsets with complimentary OEM services for sale from $179 to $749 here, as well as genuine accessories.

That’s great. Build it, and they will come. Well….yes, in the movies. In reality, Windows Phone is a LONG way behind Android and iOS in the local market. With estimates for AUS local new device sales of between 4-7%, Windows Phone has made it to 3rd place and is outselling Blackberry. However 85% plus of the market is made up of it’s two major competitors…so that’s where Marketing comes in.

We won’t even bother talking about Samsung and HTC for local Windows Phone Marketing in Australia. It doesn’t exist in all practicality. So that leaves Nokia (and Microsoft AU – and Aussie Carriers).

As WP8 users in Australia know well (and worldwide owners to a lesser extent too) – the slow progress in having major companies bring Apps to the platform is all about ROI, Return on Investment. With low market share, the potential hybdreds of thousands of dollars it often takes for major companies to outsource or fund Apps to be developed means many are yet to justify the return of adding Windows Phone versions of their iOS/Android Apps.

Unlike India and the US, Australia – whilst a well-known early adopter country for technology and smartphones specifically - our much smaller overall market size makes ROI difficult to justify. Unfortunately for Nokia and Microsoft, this also seems to be true for their Australian divisions. Forget the recent inundation of Microsoft Surface TV adverts, with Surface global market release budgets most probably funded and most definitely tightly controlled by the MS Corp Seattle Surface team. Same for Windows 8. Or Office 365 (see Long Zheng’s recent coverage of their promotional events)

Let’s talk Windows Phone.

Telstra are doing there bit at the moment – probably with investment by either Nokia or Microsoft Australia. In selected key Capital City stores, they setup a feature Windows Phone interactive display to demo some of the apps and style of the ME/personal OS styling manned by trained WP staff (contractors). Let’s hope it improved after week 1, where one WPDU reader reported the Hobart store main screen was out of action, and on our only Melbourne city store visit at lunchtime on a Saturday – there was no staff manning it (had not arrived) AND the upstairs shop section where it was located was CLOSED to the public! Ouch.

Casting our mind back, the last time Nokia Australia launched a TV Advertising campaign was for the Australian launch of their first Windows Phone device – the Lumia 800 way back in MAR-APR of last year. Yep, that’s over a year ago. Since then they have launched a total of 8 additional Windows Phone Lumia devices without any further TV Advertising.

They have launched a number of promotional activities (interactive billboards, virtual reality experiences etc) – with a focus on Bus Stop, Billboard and Public Transport advertising over this period. Contrasting the overseas India and US experience, the latest Nokia marketing activity was a Facebook/YouTube series of videos called “The Mission”.

Being a market leader like Samsung with their Galaxy range, enormous shares and sales allows them to make launch events for new devices extravaganzas. Take the S4 launch last month, Guy Sebastian’s musical appearance alone probably cost them $50K plus. That’s probably about half on Nokia’s annual Australian promotional budget alone (not counting carrier-partnered activities)!!!

Nokia Australia are ramping up the social media activity – with new competitions like their “surf photographer” inspired Facebook Competition underway now (click pic below for link) - as well as the Twitter Lumia 520 inspired hashtag #520Friday giveaway every Friday at 5:20pm for the next month or two – however the lack of any TV advertising to underpin the complete new Lumia WP8 family is a huge black hole.

Click to open the competition page

We hope that this is about to change. With new Nokia Windows Phone handsets expected to be announced in the second half of 2013 – and with the Lumia 920 now having been available as the “premiere” WP8 handset in Australia for basically 6 months, the boat is almost leaving harbour on any chance to marry the current devices with TV advertising.

Showing the latest US Lumia 920 advert on Nokia Australia’s Lumia website is not enough. With all the pieces now in place – and assuming Nokia and MS have been working behind the scenes to improve the consistent weak-spot of sales staff training and platform knowledge – the time is NOW – or never, for a comprehensive TV push to drive up sales of the broad device range now on offer by Nokia for Windows Phone Down Under.

Sheeds.

Fancy a second Windows Phone device for your partner, kids – or even parents? Love free stuff? Then you won’t want to miss this one. During the month of May WPDU is seeking community participation. We want your guest blog post….and all guest posts will go into the draw for a Nokia Lumia 610 handset. Your best chance going for a free handset.

With the Lumia 610, not only will your device be upgradable to the WP7.8 release (with Bing Lockscreen images, smaller custom live tiles, extra accent colours and more) but it is blue-ticked and capable of running on either 850Mhz or 900Mhz (once unlocked) 3G Aussie networks.

So what are we looking for? Thoughts, Reviews, News coverage, Event coverage – or any creative output covering Windows Phone, Windows 8, Office, Developing, Xbox, Gaming or similar for the MS Ecosystem, with an Aussie flavour.

Click to email us your blog post idea

To avoid blog post duplication (for eg 10 Lumia 520 reviews), your initial idea needs to be emailed to us via the button (right) – with a dot-point or brief overview of what you would like to write about so that we can allocate to first in, best dressed. In all cases we will promptly reply back to confirm you can proceed and that no one else has already requested your chosen subject matter.Entries can be provided as word or notepad written files with any hyperlinks and full-res photos related to your post attached. If you have video’s to include, please upload these to YouTube and provide the link. All (c) should be considered for any source material, and quoted/stated with your post. WPDownUnder reserves the right to final editorial approval of all posts prior to publication at www.wpdownunder.com – and will advise entrants of any issues or concerns which may impede publication at the time of receipt.

A minimum of 500 words will also need to be met (guest post, not guest comment!). Please ensure your email includes full name, city (not address) and a contact number as well as your guest post idea, as we need to be able to contact you if you have a guest post published here regardless of if you win a prize or not. Competition is open to Australian residents only – however overseas entries are welcome, even if ineligible to win!

• 1st Prize: will be randomly selected from published entries and is a locked Telstra Lumia 610 handset (bnib). Handset can be unlocked by winner at their own cost ($27.50 max).
• A bonus 2nd place Prize will be confirmed during the competition.

The local Windows Phone and MS enthusiast community is a great one, and we have enjoyed participating in it for the last few years. With some recent time constraints over continuing our regular content here at WPDU, we look forward to receiving some of your own contributions and takes on local issues/news, and hope the handset prize up for grabs motivates you to put pen to paper!

Thanks to all WPDU readers – new and old alike.

Sheeds.

WPDownUnder can confirm that following discussions with both Harvey Norman and JB Hifi stores today, that the Surface Pro SKU’s are now live in their systems and RRP pricing is confirmed.

UPDATE

MS Confirm 30th May local AU release date – pricing per our tip-off!

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ausblog/archive/2013/05/16/surface-pro-hits-australian-shores-on-may-30.aspx

* * * *

128 GB Model = RRP of A$1099 (Base model typically would include pen, but no cover)

64 GB Model   = RRP of A$999.

JB HiFi reported store orders having been placed (the store I visited had 13 on order) – but no ETA as yet (guestimate of inside 2 weeks). HN advised SKU’s live, but no stock orders placed as yet.

We can reasonably expect these RRP’s to be replicated on the MS Store AU site – if Surface RT price modelling is consistent. The US RRP’s are $899 and $999 respectively – so adding 10% GST respectively and MS are certainly leaving little on the table to hedge currency or other costs. Nice work.

MSAU when contacted prior to today’s information confirmed no comment on RRP or retailer availability

Sheeds.

If you are an Aussie Windows Phone or Windows 8 Developer – or prospective Dev – and you are not taking advantage of Microsoft’s local FREE training opportunities, you need to get serious NOW! With a swag of online and roving Capital City appfests and boot camps, the Aussie DPE teams across Azure/Cloud, WP and Windows 8 are there to give you a helping hand. For our readers, here’s a quick snapshot on upcoming events and how to make sure you know where to keep tabs with these great opportunities.

The MSAU LaLaNinja site focuses on Aussie DPE events, news and App/Developer stories. It should be your first reference – whether you are an established or aspiring local developer in the MS ecosystem. Based on an earlier post, here is a summary of upcoming (May+) Virtual Appfest developer events you should be looking at participating in.

In addition to these, local WP DPE Dave Glover has a great community WP Developer hub over at wp.msdeveloper.com.au. If you are a local Developer for Windows Phone, you can register and access marketplace tokens as well as developer loan handsets. Enthusiasts and community contributors can also register there.

If you are ADELAIDE based, did you know there is a Windows Phone Dev Training workshop coming up this week? That’s right,

Windows Phone 8 developers workshop in Adelaide.

Come and learn about developing for the new Windows Phone 8

Day 1 (Friday) is dedicated to presentations introducing you to the concepts and techniques you’ll need to create successful Windows Phone applications.

Day 2 (Saturday) is a full day of hands-on labs to get you up and running.

With experts from Nokia and Microsoft at hand, you’ll quickly grasp the fundamentals of creating and publishing apps for this exciting platform. Nokia also have some great prizes up for grabs.

Day 2 is now over-subscribed….however MS encourage you to still register if interested in case of a drop-out, and also to help them better understand interest levels for future events.

Make sure you sign up at the site above regardless, and check out all the great getting started and local community Developer links to help you out.

Finally, also don’t forget our very own www.developeddownunder.com community campaign and App (from Dev partner www.mobilewares.net). If you have an Aussie made WP8/WP7 App – why not access FREE promotion of your App by signing up to our catalogue of Aussie Apps to thousands of Australian WP owners (based on App downloads).

Submit your Apps now via our simple web form, it will take literally seconds to do!

Get to it WPAU Devs!

Sheeds.

iiNet, Australia’s number 2 internet provider, has been offering mobile plans mobile for a while now. In partnership with Samsung Australia, their device offerings (for outright purchase or on their iiNet mobile plans) have all been Android devices up until this month. A couple of weeks ago staff began getting trained on a new Samsung phone, the ATIV S, as Windows Phone makes it’s debut on their site.

iiNet’s mobile plans (nice marketing take on the social media data allowance btw) offer some pretty competitive offerings and use the Optus network for 3G (900Mhz).

You have to be an existing iiNet customer to access the mobile handsets and plans, and the handset cost is added to the plan cost for your total monthly outlay.

Outright pricing is not the sharpest, with the likes of Harvey Norman at present offering the ATIV outright for $524.

Will be interesting to see how well the staff have been trained in the differences and selling points for Windows Phone. Their FAQ and support page certainly needs some work – as it is 100% focused on Android vs iOS……no that much different to the OEM who makes the phone I guess!

If you are an iiNet customer and have or are looking into grabbing one of these WP8 devices, please share your experience here on how iiNet handle having a Windows Phone Down Under handset…

Sheeds.

PS thanks for the reader tip-off on this one.

I thought long and hard about the preceding post on the site. Like many of you, last year I wanted to see some serious questions on Windows Phone at Telstra answered. Before Christmas I engaged official channels at Telstra to try and put these questions to them. Today, those questions still broadly remain for Telstra WP owners;

• Data Sense future support
• Visual VoiceMail support
• AFL/NRL – Video Streaming service Apps
• Foxtel App
• 24×7 App (more on this shortly)
• etc

In late November/early December I was advised that we would have the opportunity to receive an interview with Andrew Volard (the business unit head for these Mobile device/support questions) and we promptly submitted a large number of questions to them covering these topics as well as the more general device/platform/Telstra/Marketing ones….Fast forward to March 2013, and I had almost given-up ever seeing a response to the agreed interview (despite the excellent support from my main Telstra contact trying to get me results).

Then on my last follow-up, a breakthrough of sorts. If I could re-submit a smaller list of questions there might be one last shot to get the (much earlier agreed-to interview) responses for me.

The unspoken implication of Telstra’s inability up to that point to deliver on the agreed interview for 4 months and respond to the specific questions raised was clear to WPDU – so we supplied a more basic and redacted list to our contact (for PR).

THIS is the basis on which Telstra replied a few days ago, and we posted here.

So, in the meantime – I would direct your attention to the posts;

• here where I manage to get unprompted questions in front of Andrew on a Live WebChat from last year: http://www.wpdownunder.com/?p=7130 and
• http://www.wpdownunder.com/?p=10308 last week where a reader tip-off had the CEO confirming details on the 24×7 app which Telstra PR and “normal” channels were not prepared to respond.

…and with that, I am well and truly over this matter. Feel free to contact David Thodey with your Telstra WP support questions at http://www.telstra.com.au/webforms/contact-ceo/

Sheeds.

With thanks to Telstra, WPDownUnder is pleased to share with our readers the recent interview we were able to secure on Windows Phone with one of Telstra’s key business unit leaders; Andrew Volard.

UPDATE 4/4/13: With thanks to another WPDU reader and WP Aussie community member, we can now confirm these additional specific responses from the CEO’s office in the quotations below (from an email they received today).

Visual Voicemail (Messagebank Plus): “We continue to look at the viability of introducing Visual Voicemail for Windows Phone, however we currently don’t have a date for release at this stage.”

Telstra 24×7 app: “We can confirm that Telstra has started development of a Windows phone version which we expect to launch later in the year”

Mobile Foxtel and AFL Live: “Currently the Windows Phone operating system does not support the industry standard streaming technologies (RTSP and HTTP Live Streaming) used to deliver Mobile FOXTEL and AFL Live. We are however, working together with Microsoft and key vendor partners on ways to bring this capability and launch both apps in future, but with no firm timings as yet.”

Mobile websites:”In terms of our media products we have a road map to offer Windows phone apps for AFL and NRL for the FY14 seasons. We will also have a windows app for MOG in Feb 2014.  There are no plans for Mobile Foxtel as yet.”

Data Sense: “Microsoft has not made Data Sense available in Australia (nor in most markets outside of the USA).  We are working together with Microsoft on ways to enable Data Sense features in future, but have no firm timings as yet.”

Secure SIM cards: “Telstra currently does not have mobile payments via NFC product available for any platform/operating system.”

*   *   *   *   *

Andrew Volard, Telstra’s Director of Device Management, heads up one of the fastest growing profit sectors for Telstra; their mobile device product range. He and his team decide which OEM devices Telstra will range and are accountable for the profitability of those devices. As such, he has a keen interest in seeing a successful Windows Phone platform for Telstra – offering choice and differentiation from the main two market-leading Android and iOS product groups.

Andrew Volard’s Telstra Exchange profile

Q. Telstra’s latest addition to their smartphone range is Nokia’s 4G Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 device. What did Telstra see as the main attractions in picking up this device?

A.V. As this was the first Windows Phone 8 available in Australia from a brand loved by so many Australians, we really didn’t have any doubts about taking on the Nokia Lumia 920. It wasn’t one particular feature that attracted us to the phone, it was an obvious choice.

Q. It’s fair to say that Windows Phone in Australia (with an estimated share of no more than 5% of new device sales to date via one analyst) has had a slow start. What do Telstra view as the reasons for this, and how do they see the Lumia 920 and WP8 changing this?

A.V. There’s no doubt Android and iOS platforms have been hugely popular with our customers, but the Windows Phone 8 is a relatively new player and is a great step change in the platform. Devices like the Nokia 920 – with its fantastic camera and design – deliver great differentiation. We want to give customers as much choice as possible in these areas, and we think the Windows 8 platform is definitely a strong alternative.

Q. How do you see the mix of consumer and business as it relates to Window Phone and Telstra? Recent promotional and marketing materials have highlighted some of the platforms synergies with business, and Windows Phone 8 brings new enterprise/business capabilities.

A.V. We’ve had interest from both consumer and small business customers in Windows  Phone 8 at this stage. The combination of Microsoft Office, enhanced security and features like live tiles, kids corner and Music Hub mean the device caters to both markets equally well. This is particularly important for business customers because 85% of business customers use their smartphone for personal use as well.

We’re also seeing some large Business and Enterprise customers evaluating how it can complement their strategies to upgrade PCs to Windows 8. We expect to see this grow as businesses seek more cohesive ways of working remotely and in the cloud.

Q. The new Icon store Windows Phone displays – are they a partnership with Microsoft Australia? How do Telstra believe this will help promote the Windows Phone platform – and what can consumers expect when they come into one of the stores to see these interactive displays?  

A.V. The Windows platform is still new to many of our customers, so to help them understand what is possible with Windows Phone 8 we’ve partnered with Microsoft to roll out a new immersive walk through Windows Phone 8 experience in our Icon stores.

Customers are guided through the personalised experience by Microsoft Ambassadors and are presented with a tablet designed to bring their personality to life throughout the area. They’ll see the colours change, sounds chime and live tiles update to show how they can customise their phone. There are also live devices also ready for customers to try out.

A video walk-through (below) also shows how the entire area comes to life.

Q. What phone do you use Andrew as your primary device? Or have you used the Lumia 920 for any extended period and what are your personal thoughts?

A.V. Although I don’t have a primary device as such, as my role requires me to use all devices, I have used the Lumia 920 for an extended period of time and I have enjoyed using it immensely. One of the main reasons is that it synchronises perfectly with Outlook which is vital for my job.

Windows Phone Down Under would like to thank Andrew for his time.

Don’t forget Telstra now have the exclusively available CYAN Lumia 920, and if you buy a new 920 (or 820) in the months of April or May, make sure you take up the BONUS FREE redemption offer from Nokia Australia of a wireless charging accessory here: http://nokiapromo.com.au/

Sheeds.

Click to grab a Cyan Lumia920 from Telstra.

There has been a growing rich tradition in Microsoft and Google taking pot-shots at each other. With all the current efforts by Google to scale back API’s and bridges allowing their services to function easily on Windows 8 and Windows Phone, their latest effort is disguised in an April Fool’s Day video. Of course, with “Gmail Blue” – Microsoft are front and centre in their sights. Just watch this video and take note of the finishing line. Very funny.

Gmail Blue:

and here’s once of Microsoft’s better efforts from a year or two back…

LOLZ

Sheeds.

A few weeks ago our much-loved Surface RT tablet died. Suddenly and irreparably it failed mid-use. There was not even the fresh-faced :( BSOD screen to warn us of something going awry. After we got over our initial disappointment we had the chance to see how Microsoft stacked up in their Australian warranty support for the Surface RT tablet. We rate our experience for readers.

Our Surface RT tablet gets a lot of use. As we rapidly approach the 6 month mark since buying the device, it has become our staple gadget on the go for work and leisure. It has relegated our Windows Phone to basically being a combination phone/twitter/gps/camera device. Therefore losing it to some form of mechanical failure, without even the option to restore or recover it was quite the setback.

A failure in the flash memory was the suspected culprit – as the device would not boot past the initial Surface logo. If you can get past this to the spinning circles, you have a far better chance of being able to recover the device. By default, each Surface RT device has a recovery partition (hidden) which takes up about 3.5Gb. Users are able to move this recovery partition to a USB drive, allowing this space to be recovered on the device. However if you lose your external copy of the partition you may be in deep strife if you have an OS failure requiring rebuild/refreshing. The official MS help pages on this process should be something you take careful note of. You should also be familiar with the different boot options for problem resolution with Windows RT.

Our issue however, was irreparable. So we decided to give the support number a call from the MS Store online (electing to pass-up completing all our info via the online ticket/form process). We connected quickly and spoke with the very helpful Matt in the Surface support team. Refreshingly, language and accents proved to be little issue as Matt was based in the USA and I toned down my broad Aussie accent Matt efficiently stepped me through the process and whilst still on the phone to him, I received a summary of my warranty/service request on email.

Prior to our device failing I had seen quite a few service and support warranty claims being discussed in the Whirlpool Surface RT threads. The majority were for coloured touch-cover’s coming unstuck (stitching failing on bend radius near the magnets) – with black units not seeming to be similarly prone to this issue. There were also a number of failures/returns for the tablets themselves there with varying customer service levels and user satisfaction. Knowing this, whilst our initial experience had begun well with our call - I knew that we still had a way to go to get our replacement device!

We never needed to worry.

Following the initial call, our service support person Matt followed up promptly on what he promised and each step of the process was seamless and with minimal delay. From shipping labels (for free return postage via Aussie post) to acknowledgements of return receipt and confirmation of the replacement unit being shipped - it all worked like clockwork.

Here’s a summary of the timeline from initial contact with MS Store support to the replacement Surface RT arriving at our home office – and remember that there was a public holiday long weekend here (11th March) and I was unable to drop the package to the post office on the 12th.

That’s a pretty exemplary support experience right there!

So, as much as there was the initial hassle and disappointment of the device’s failure – with a two-year warranty replacement/repair warranty for Australian purchases backing the Surface RT, you have serious piece of mind over Microsoft standing by its product. Oh – and there is no “premium service add-on” like competitors may try to up sell you on here!

Sheeds.

PS – It’s also worth thinking for a minute about how the experience would have differed if buying from a grey-importer without local Microsoft Support! <shudder>

With Australia still waiting in line for confirmed Surface Pro release dates (expected later this month) it has been left to the “pseudo-Windows 8″ Surface tablet running Windows RT to fly the Surface flag Down Under. Recent changes to Microsoft’s policies and minimum specifications for device makers on Windows 8 suggest the path has now been opened for a range of new OEM form factors running Windows 8 – not the least being a 7″ tablet. We can also expect that MS will expand on their current Surface device range, whether in current model refreshes or more broadly into new devices like the much-rumoured Surface phone. Now Microsoft Australia are set to expand their AU Surface presence via a new dedicated Marketing position being advertised last week.

The Partner-Channel “Surface” Marketing Manager role is a new role for Microsoft Australia dedicated to the Surface family of products here. With a strong retail focus, the successful candidate can also expect to have a very strong direct engagement back to the MS Corp Surface team in Seattle. Past experience of ours has suggested MSAU locally won’t even “cough” in response to a Surface question without US HO approval!

This is a great opportunity for an Aussie enthusiast with all the right experience to jump in and push the Surface device family in one of the fastest growing tech segments in the country right now. Sure, the challenge faced on the “Shopping Experience – instore and online” component of the role is huge (many retail staff have NFI on how to sell the Surface RT for instance) – but you can throw into the mix the enticing possibility of Aussie MS stores debuting over the next 12m!

Oh – and if games are more your thing, then try this MS Marketing job going in the Xbox division as well!

Sheeds.

PS – Hopefully this appointment will include REVIEW UNITS for AU media as part of their strategy (sadly lacking since the Surface RT launch).

Nokia’s Lumia 520 is the latest entry-level Windows Phone 8 smartphone in their Lumia line-up. Announced at their keynote at Mobile World Conference 2013 (from 15’45), it is the most affordable device launched by Nokia in the Lumia family. It is expected to launch in China, India and other markets at the sub-$200 mark – and with the Lumia 620 retailing in AUS for around the $270-299 mark – should be at similar price points when landing Down Under.

Packing some bang for bucks, the 520 is more than just the “basic” smartphone quoted in the communique below. It runs WP8 – and features the suite of Nokia services pretty much in full; Maps, Drive, City Lens and Transit (now branded as Nokia Here), Camera lenses, Music and more. Specs include dual-core 1GHz CPU, 512Mb RAM, 8Gb Memory & expandable microSD slot, 4″ IPS super-sensitive touch screen and removable battery. The main differences from this device and the next up the line in the Lumia range is the lack of NFC and wireless re-charging capability.

Thanks to another reader tip-off, we can report Telstra communications pointing to the Lumia 520 being set to replace the Nokia C5 to either their stores, or re-seller partners. Given the Nokia C5 still shows up on both Telstra’s online site (for in-store orders only) and their business site, it may also be fair to assume that this will also translate to these channels as well.

The C5 is still selling direct from Telstra for $240 outright officially or is available where in stock on both $20 and $30 12month plans (with the device being free). Whether the Lumia 520 will pick up similar options – or these are only for the C5 as it approaches EOL – we should find out sometime soon in April.

As a blue-tick device (optimal 3G reception performance) recommended for rural and more remote mobile usage around Australia, it will also be interesting to see if the 520 is accorded this assessment by Telstra. The Lumia 800 (WP7.x) device is the only Lumia handset which has secured this rating previously.

Hopefully this device will entice more customers looking at their first ever smartphone upgrade to consider this unbeatable value in a Windows Phone Down Under.

Sheeds.

Corporate Australian App development for Windows Phone still remains painfully slow for the growing numbers of device owners in Australia two and half years into the platform’s life. Whether its Vodafone cricket Apps, Foxtel or (any) Sport streaming Apps right down to self-service Apps for each carrier, Windows Phone certainly lags behind the market size and reach of Android and iOS. Well, thanks to a motivated WP enthusiast, we can now report that at least one of these gaps is being addressed at Telstra now – and the confirmation comes from an impeccable source!

Telstra’s 24×7 App is a feature-rich mobile App bringing your complete Telstra Account management experience to the convenience of your smartphone. Paying bills, viewing usage, checking credit remaining and re-charging or just locating your closest Telstra store are all features in the iOS and Android versions.

In information provided to WPDownUnder this week, we can confirm that Telstra’s CEO David Thodey has responded as per below (name and contact details removed) on the subject of a Windows Phone Telstra 24 x 7 App.



Dear XXXXX,

I’d like to thank you for your note and I am pleased to let you know that a windows version of our popular 24×7 app is already planned.

We are about to commence its development and whilst release dates are hard to predict with accuracy, we expect to have this app in the market by June this year.

I thank you very much for being a Telstra customer and I appreciate your passion for the Windows phone range.

Kind regards

David

David Thodey Chief Executive Officer Telstra Corporation Limited  Locked Bag xxxx, Melbourne VIC 3001

(phone and email removed)

“Windows Phone is an important platform for us” – This just seems to be missing the comma, BUT!

“We already provide customers with a Windows Phone TelstraOne app (recently updated)” - ….and YOU Windows Phone customers should be grateful we did that AND that we went to the trouble to update if for you! Harsh? Maybe a little

The focus might have been on religion of another sort in recent days, however here in Australia we love our footy codes so much that it would not be surprising to see AFL or Rugby League featuring strongly in national census results for “religion” each survey! In 2011 and 2012 Niall Ginsbourg of Mobilewares.net – one of the leading Aussie Developers for Windows Phone (and now Windows 8) released hugely popular Windows Phone Footy Apps. Now he is back just in time for the 2013 seasons with a great update to these No.1 selling Apps.

It’s great to see these Apps return! Not only are they back for 2013 with all the latest fixture, player lists and more, however in the off-season Mobilewares.net have invested in the platform even further with the introduction for the first time of stats and live scores powered by Australia’s leading service – Sportsdata. This is the same backend data service delivering rich live stats and information on a range of sports to premium AU media outlets (Fairfax, Foxtel etc.). Congratulations to Mobilewares.net for getting behind the platform in this fashion and taking their Apps to the next level. You really will be ahead of the smartphone pack with these amazing AFL, League and Super Ruby Apps!

This review focuses on the AU Footy 2013 AFL app – however feature-sets are similar across both the Rugby League and Super Rugby Apps.

Click for larger version

AU Footy 2013 features a comprehensive set of main screens at the heart of the App. Starting with your nominated team, the AU Footy 2013 provides you with a snapshot view of your teams results from your most recent two games, the next 3 upcoming games as well as your current ladder standings (screen above shows 2012 ladder position until the 2013 Home and Away season commences). Clicking on Upcoming Games or Ladder sections brings you to expanded information pages for each.

Scrolling the Panorama to the right allows you to move through more pages covering Scores (all live in the case of games underway at the time of opening the App), Fixture Info, News (RSS feeds), and More (stats, settings and other App data) sections.

Click for larger version

The Match details screens offer a rich array of Live data and information to allow you to monitor everything which is happening in-game. Whether quarter-by-quarter or total game (to date) stats by team and player views, line-ups or a time-lapse action view – AU Footy 2013 will keep you in complete coverage of your game, Live or after the final siren. It really is the most comprehensive Live Footy app you could ever want!

Not content to just cover the game in its full detail, Mobilewares have also continued their additional match-day support into social media and venue access. The App allows you to not only follow the official team Twitter streams (and match day tweets) – it also allows you to share status updates on the game from the App to Twitter, Facebook, Windows Live or email! It’s the perfect way to annoy friends and family by gloating over the game at any point and making sure the people you love to stir know exactly how many goals their team is down during the match!

Unfortunately for us, last night’s result was not what we had hoped for! Go the Blues 2013!!!

There is also complete venue information – with directions launched from within the App to make sure you get to the stadium for the game.

Here’s a list of all the features of the App as set out on the AU Footy 2013 homepage (and remember these apply similarly for the AU Rugby League and Sup-Rugby versions):

• Comprehensive Extended Live Match Data including Quarter by Quarter, Team + Individual player stats, pre-game Team Lineups, Match Events, and other general information where available (such as weather, ground conditions, umpire lists, injuries and attendance).
• View Upcoming Matches + Fixture by Team or by Round.
• View Detailed/Live Competition Ladders (Including NAB Pre Season)
• View Top Player Stats for the competition.
• View Player Lists for each team
• Includes 2013+2012 Fixture Data (with Historical scores for 2012 Season pre-loaded into the App) – including coverage of the NAB Pre-Season.
• Browse the Team Guide and get comprehensive team details such as upcoming + historical matches, ladder positions and player listings
• Browse the Venue Guide – view it on Bing Maps and get Navigation Directions as well as links through to Wikipedia Venue information
• Browse Latest RSS News + Twitter feeds from all the popular providers for the competition and for your team.
• Shows Match Times in your local Timezone (as well as Local Venue Times)
• Hide Live Scores Option (for when you’re watching a delayed telecast)
• Works great with both Windows Phone 7 + Windows Phone 8 (with Low Memory Device detection + support)

WOW

And Live Tile support you ask? Mobilewares.net have that covered in an update coming soon (after initial App release) which will deliver latest results to your tile along with wide Windows Phone 7.8/8.0 Tile support.

AU League 2013:

Click for larger version

Sup-Rugby 2013:

Click for larger version

The AU Footy 2013 AFL App – and the Rugby League and Super Rugby Apps are expected to go live in the Windows Phone marketplace in the next day or so – and will be priced at the excellent value of only $2.49 each. That’s less than a can of soft drink folks

Keep an eye on the Mobilewares.net App pages below for the live links once they complete marketplace certification shortly! Thanks to Niall for his continued support of the platform and for the chance to exclusively review these brilliant new 2013 Apps for Windows Phone Down Under!

Grab it here

Grab it here

Grab it here

 UPDATE: These Apps are now LIVE in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Click the links directly above to visit each website where you can grab the marketplace link !!!

Sheeds.

PS - They will also be available with limited feature-set trials.

The WPDownUnder household is a true gaming one…Mr’s WPDU aside. With three boys and one large kid in the home, gaming is ever-present. From consoles to tablets, handheld devices and phones to the Desktop. You name it, we have played it. Rummage through the cupboards and ancient Nintendo Game Watches will emerge from one box, prior generation consoles or old PC Graphics cards from another. However all have made way for the mighty current triumvirate of Gaming Desktop, Xbox 360 and PS3. Of course, 2013 will see the latter two superseded by new releases as the console wars heat up for a fresh skirmish.

Gaming in the modern era means online gaming. And it’s here where Microsoft and the Xbox Live service has provided a broad range of social and entertainment value….for a price. Now without any fanfare it looks like for families at least, this price has just jumped substantially.

Back in late 2010 (US) Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Gold Family Pack. This great-value deal offered (based on most recent pricing) 4 annual Xbox Live Gold subscriptions for $129.95, whereas a single annual pass is $79.95.

Last week Richard Hay of WindowsObserver.com featured the news that an Xbox support forum reply confirmed Microsoft had dropped the Family Gold pass. No Press Release, no blog post, email or broad announcement of any sort. Just via a support reply in their forums. We reached out to Microsoft Australia, and received word-for-word confirmation per the US support forum reply here.

In the case of the WPDownUnder household, this means that come the end of 2013 when our household subscription lapses, we will have to pay $189.85 extra (146% more) to keep gaming online with our 2 household Xbox devices for another 12 months. This bring the total annual outlay for what used to cost us $129.95 to the grand sum of $319.80. This is more than the cost of buying a new console bundle each year!

Image (c) EBGames

There is no doubt that Xbox Live has been the premium (feature and reliability) online service suite. However this increase is huge. Currently the basic access to online gaming on the PS3 is free (Playstation Plus offers games and DLC extras for their subscription service). PC gaming of course covers all bases - with free online gaming and games through to paid subscription models.

What becomes more interesting is speculating on the timing and reasons behind this change. With new consoles from both Sony and Xbox due later this year, online services and experiences are sure to be one of the hotly contested face-off’s for both consoles.

• Is MS removing the Family pack now in preparation for a new pricing model (higher or lower) for the next Xbox?
• Are they price signalling to Sony in advance of the new console launches?
• Will Sony be introducing paid subscription access to online multiplayer for the first time (their recent PS4 preview mentioned no commitment to continued free access to this feature with the new console)?
• Did Microsoft internal monitoring of the Family Gold deal reveal increasing levels of “exploitation” of this deal by users to the point they decided to close the loophole?
• Will the new Xbox have a completely refreshed service suite (or even built-in) Family console management features and online family account splitting/aggregating/combining etc…

Right now with Microsoft confirming no reason for the change, no PR, no context or future plans in this area – existing customers with Family Gold subscriptions lapsing or already lapsed will have to fork out more of their hard-earned to keep the kids happily fragging their friends online in Call of Duty or building in co-op Minecraft.

Putting the new single-user only Xbox Live Gold subscription into context with other MS offerings – as Xbox tightens their licensing (and removes discounted offerings) – the Office 365 new home subscription service allows up to 5 PC installs @ an annual per unit charge as low as $23.80 vs. the Xbox Live Gold single-user subscription being $79.95!

Let’s just hope that if MS do launch a new family discounted offering with the next Xbox – that they are prepared to recompense or subsidise the many families who could well end up out-of-pocket with keeping their kids online until then!

Sheeds.

PS – Microsoft you might want to remove the Xbox Family Live Pack FAQ here. Oh – and my Xbox Live Account screen still shows an auto-renew date of DEC 2013 for my Xbox Live Gold Family subscription. Might be worth alerting your customers who elected in good-faith to Microsoft for an auto-renewal that this won’t be happening.

Image credit – Nathan.

If you haven’t walked into a Telstra retail store for a while….you have probably missed the latest Blitz on in-store promotion of Windows Phone. Yep, I said Blitz! In what must be a concerted effort with support by Nokia and Microsoft, Telstra have launched the largest promotional campaign via in-store point of sale materials in the history of Windows Phone. Front and centre, the Nokia Lumia 920!

Here’s a couple more in store shots with thanks to WPDU reader Nathan:

Further to this, over at our Facebook Page, Damien let us know that the latest Telstra Let’s Connect catalogue continues this with a significant advertisement of their Windows Phone 8 range (and a WP7.x device throw in).

….and even a cheap Lumia 610 (Telstra – you REALLY need to update this to the Lumia 620 ASAP). The 620 is available via Telstra re-seller JB HiFi.

Great to see a Windows Phone Blitz happening at the moment from Telstra. They even have the Lumia 920 tagged on one of their new TV spots as well.

Sheeds.

image credit: arstechnica

The future of Windows 8 and the path Microsoft are clearly taking their OS down is all about Apps and User Experience. We can expect more integration and continual investment by Microsoft towards delivering this combination, rather than just relying on third parties and partners. Windows 8 is all about the merging and blurring of the lines between User interface, OS, Hardware and Apps. With Windows 8 (and Windows RT) launched on the back of probably the most extensive trial period of any software in history and on sale with new hardware devices being added almost weekly, Microsoft now need to deliver first class App experiences in its Modern UI start screen environment.

And they are hiring right now – for a Sydney based Manager to achieve this in International Markets (outside of US). Maybe even you?

In 2012 Microsoft globally introduced an in-house news/editorial area to gather and deploy content to the new App experiences powered by Bing it was delivering with Windows 8 / Windows RT:

• News
• Weather
• Sport
• Finance
• Travel

All these services involve data, image, story and other partnerships with third parties; such as the MLB (Baseball league in US), tripadvisor, Fodor’s, Morningstar etc. With Live Tiles, these apps along with the Bing backend services aim to deliver a compelling user-experience to underpin the start-screen “Metro” environment.

Images (c) Microsoft Windows 8 Apps

Now Microsoft are advertising a critical role to drive this new OS App experience for world markets (outside US), and it based right here in Australia: AppEx (Application Experience) World Markets Prgm Mgr Job.

Per Microsoft’s overview in their job listing;

“With their superior user experience, applications are an increasingly common means of accessing the world’s information. Leveraging both Windows and Bing, AppEx (Application Experience) delivers 5 key verticals of information – News, Weather, Travel, Sports, Finance – as world-class apps pre-installed on Windows 8. AppEx World Markets (AWM) is a newly formed group within AppEx focused on creating a winning combination of UX, features and content for all 5 apps in international markets (ex-US). AWM is charged with helping each app become “best in category” in chosen markets, and to grow each market’s user base, engagement and monetization potential.”

Key responsibilities include:

• “Be the voice of the local user”
• “Be a keen student of local trends and evolving competition (competing iPad & Android apps, web sites, other media)”
• “Represent and balance ecosystem interests – user, advertiser, content partner – throughout the product lifecycle”
• “Work with Editorial, the local Executive Producer (EP), and business development to acquire and program content relevant to the local market”
• “Work with vertical product teams to develop services/products/features targeted at the local market”

Source MS Job listings.

Whether this is just regional Asia-Pacific focused - or more broadly for all non-US markets, it’s an interesting role which reinforces the need for Microsoft to evolve and improve these core App experiences. Much comment has already centred on some of the shortcomings of the inbuilt MS Apps (such as Mail). Think of the Nokia service and App platform which they bring to value-add to Windows Phone….and that’s where MS need to be. The days of the OS being enough alone are certainly gone forever!

So – if you are looking for a dynamic regional User Experience, content, partner and Project Management role on Windows 8 (and meet the significant job requirements from the role) – then we look forward to interviewing you here at WPDU six-months in on how the role is going!

Sheeds.

Last month Microsoft confirmed new hardware coming to the Surface range, launching in February. With thanks to MSAU, we can now confirm that the Aussie online Microsoft Store is now carrying these new items;

1) The 64 GB device-only (no touch cover) Surface RT SKU – priced at $679. This now allows you to grab the Type Cover as an extra without having to pay for a bundled touch cover.

2) Further to this new item, special limited edition Touch Covers were also announced. Featuring three different stencilled artworks on the covers, one for each the Blue, Red and Magenta/Pink ones, these too have apparently now become available in the AUS store (they show online at the en-AU site…but yours truly could not see them in the select/purchase section).

The 3 styles available are; ” Flowers – Oh Joy”, Year of the Snake – Liu Qing (aka “Left”) and Skulls – Kate Bailey. We will reach out and ask MSAU if the covers will be in the two retail outlets (JB and HN) or online – or both.

Many Aussies have been hanging out for the Surface Pro. Whilst there is no official word on an Aussie release as yet from MS locally (or in Seattle), we do know that Microsoft have confirmed that it is indeed “coming soon” to selected non-US markets. Given Australia was the first market in the world to have the Surface RT go into non-MS bricks n’ mortar stores with strong demand from both JB and Harvey Norman, we feel it stands to reason Australia will be right up there.

Further to this, a source has tipped WPDU that they may indeed be in-store here before the end of the month. Not sure if these will help or frustrate those waiting for the Pro edition Down Under – but here’s a couple of new Surface Pro videos to pass the time.

The new ” Vibe”  advert is an obvious companion piece to the first (and widely acclaimed) Surface RT advert. Whilst similar in style, we can’t help feeling that MS need to have a more serious enterprise advert…bumping up the “business capability” and down some of the “crazy dance” style…

On a more serious note, we have another grab with Panos Panay (Head of the Surface division at MS) discussing the Surface tablets. Is it just me – or does Panos look a little tired in this one? As well as this, the winners of the Surface US competition for emerging bands / new talent) have had their video thanks to Surface go up. Watch it here.

As a Quick update to our post on the Surface RT student experience at school – with thanks to Helen at MSAU on the Twitter account, we have checked out ArcSoft’s ShowBiz – a more advanced movie making app than the Cinelab version we reported before. With a small number of themes, transitions and effects such as Black/White and other filters – this is a great starter for those looking for an iMovie equivalent. Whilst it is free, be aware they offer an in-app purchase to unlock full HD movie making options.

Finally – in a move which will please many, Microsoft have released a Getting Started guide on PDF for learning Windows 8 / Windows RT actions and settings. Whilst the OS is intuitive, this help document is sure to help some ease any frustrations or head-scratching if they have been a little stuck dealing with the many changes which comes with either new OS. Grab it here – or click on the pic.

Plenty of Surface news. Now we just await the Pro launch here!

Sheeds

A Special Guest Post by Scott Barnes, aka MossyBlog.

Yes this is yet another one of those “I tried the phone but don’t like it, here’s why” posts. I probably will not differ in opinions that others have had over the phone simply because after 30 days of trial I simply could not bond with it. Here is why.

Marketplace is war of the clones.

If anyone has read my blog, they will probably read a post or two about my annoyance at the applications in the market place that are basically “clones” of one another. The apps in general rarely express their own personality, are typically the remains of developers using the default “File-New-Project” templates. Having this occurrence in turn creates a problem for the phone as once consumers of the phone establish a bond with the “metro” look they will eventually grow weary of its consistency & aesthetic design(s) (it loses its wow factor).

I also find that the apps in question generally fail at providing value or depth, which is disappointing given how easy it, is to make an application for the phone and how much room you have to play with as well.

There were some stand out apps that phone had that I valued but not enough to warrant a jump from iPhone to Windows Phone 8 as apps like Facebook & Twitter looked and worked as if they were farmed out to first year grad students to develop for the said brands. I think that was also a huge mistake on Microsoft & Nokia’s part as if they want this phone to succeed beyond the technology geekdom they in turn need to focus in on apps like these two to ensure they are best of breed experiences, as these are your seeds for further adoption.

Where is spotify <editor’s note – it arrived today>? In that someone within Microsoft should have metrics around ensuring, apps on both Android/iPhone that are quite popular are also done on Windows Phone. I just do not see this happening.

Phones Size.

I forget who told me but I heard that this phone was thrown against the wall by a MLB player to show how strong and durable it is. I wouldn’t doubt that the phone would survive and it does give you a sense of relief at knowing that it’s not as fragile as the iPhone, which in turn means you don’t have a beautifully sculptured phone housed in a “hello kitty” phone case (don’t judge me).

Its size was never a problem for me with the exception of the thumb radius, in that I find when I type the size becomes an issue given the thumb has to extend more than I normally felt comfortable doing on the iPhone. It may seem small and trivial but over time it starts to become an issue and one that I felt a bit disappointed in given the phone itself felt great to hold aside from typing.

Keyboard is broken.

In general, the whole keyboard experience on the Windows Phone is amateur hour at best. There is some smarts in the autocorrect that should make whoever that evil bastard at Apple who owns autocorrect is, take notice. That being said, the phone in general is poorly designed, inconsistent and often prone to bugs / errors in its execution. I could blame a developer of an app I guess for the bulk of the issues but I have never experienced a problem like the ones I have on the iPhone, so for me it has to be a platform / SDK issue.

The issues I faced are keyboard hiding the input that I’m typing into, the screen real estate at times going beyond 1/3 ratio,  at times the keyboard I type into takes the keystrokes but nothing happens on the text input and my biggest pet hate is the key designs are badly designed & in need of a serious pixel diet.

I find the keys to narrow and the padding is way off, I think the keyboard could probably steal more from the iPhone here simply because the iPhone still has the same hit space as Windows Phone only they have made the key designs tighter in visual appearance. This in turn creates an interesting thing, given it becomes a forcing function and helps guide your accuracy on keystroke without you realizing that the actual hit surface is still quite larger than it appears (try both you’ll see what I mean)

Tiles are like one of those puzzle games.

Initially I have always found the front screen of Windows Phone to be appealing, I have often commented that this is the familiar face in a crowd that you will both recognize and enjoy seeing. Having used the phone every day for a month or so, it becomes a point of annoyance. I found myself searching at times for apps or tiles that I want to access but cannot find because I am playing a puzzle game of “where’s the symbol in these tiles”.

For instance, I caught myself one afternoon searching for the Phone icon to make a phone call, I mean I found it but it got lost in the sea of tiles for me. I just think the overall lack of icons and personality in each Tile wares on you after a while and many of the apps start to blend in with one another to the point where you probably swipe to the left to get the list view.

I have had many a debate / beers with folks who counter this remark with their own experiences or how their wife/cousin/father/friend etc. all disagree with my assertion here. I simply disagree; I think that the live tiles are missing a key ingredient that is being overlooked – personality. Technically, it is still possible to salvage this but right now, not every developer out there has a freakin clue on what this means.

Internet Explorer aint no stinkin Webkit.

Having worked in the company and been in on internal discussions around Internet Explorer’s future all I can simply ask aloud is why Microsoft continues to push this agenda is still one that I get lost on. Initially it was about controlling your own destiny combined with legacy issues around “help” etc. in existing solutions.

On a brand new phone that went from being a plugin to a UX Platform to then housing a browser within it well sort of jumped the shark a little in and around the rationale for keeping IE alive.

I personally don’t care about the browser wars or which browser has better support then the other, I do care however when my online banking website doesn’t work on Windows Phone but does on Android/iPhone/Other.

This was a deal breaker for me as sure I could sit there and blast an email off to ANZ for failing to accommodate the 0.01% market share of Windows Phone users out there, to which I would not likely get a response. I could change banks, but keep in mind ANZ is one of the largest banks in Australia & New Zealand – clue is in the name  – or I could simply say “it works on a webkit browser but not IE”.

Other sites I visited were not as happy as they should be and there was nothing technically stopping them from working I guess with Internet Explorer – suffice to say that I would wager most web developers out there really have switched off the care factor on supporting Internet Explorer given its historical fail rate.

All I am saying is if you are trying to get a new phone seeded into the market place with stronger market share, why invite more negativity by keeping Internet Explorer on life support when in turn you could have smoothed over some developer and end user experiences for relatively low-cost via WebKit.

Nothing technically was stopping this from happening as I know we had WebKit prototypes inside Silverlight via the Mac installs (hence we run YouTube videos inside Silverlight that break into puzzles). That and I personally before I left the Silverlight team, was working to shim Webkit into the Silverlight runtime via Windows given it would help smooth out our Out of Browser story in a uniform / consistent way (x-platform)

In Summary

Look the phone has a lot of potential to succeed, I did enjoy the phone initially and I can see why others may find it attractive. I think however Microsoft are squandering a lot of its potential with poor execution of simple experiences, to the point where it’s not just one big thing that annoys you about the phone – it’s really death by a thousand cuts.

It could very well be that my bias of using an iPhone for the past 4 years is showing through which is fair, but in reality, this is something that the phone has to contend with early. In that if you want people to jump across from Apple or Android to this phone, well, what is the pathway to do this? Will I have the same level of Apps I had on the other platform(s)? If not when?

Nokia have also got a bit to answer for in their software experiences as well, for example, the Camera application is fragmented at best but at the same time, it has really failed to do the basics of a normal camera application. An example comes to mind in that the settings you opt for (i.e. close up for example) don’t appear on the hud of the camera? WTF! – I had it on close-up one day for a photo then later that day I was outside taking a photo of one of the biggest Planes in production but the camera kept focusing on the fence in front of the plane!  Scratching my head I realized after two shots that I forgot I had close-up on, so there I was navigating my way through menu settings to get it back to normal.

Point is, it simple things like this that bank hate debt with the user.

The camera itself however was quite impressive, I really did enjoy using it and as much as  tired I couldn’t get the camera to adhere to the whole auto stabilization that we saw in those fake ads – but to be fair, I never am good with Cameras in the first place so I simply blamed it on user error.

As I said, it is not one big thing it’s simply lots of small things that when you add them up you are left with simple questions – “Why am I using this? Why did I give up my iPhone and is it still worth it”

With that, I am sorry to say the phone is now my developer device, which at times can also be farmed out to my kids as a gaming device as well. I find the kids’ corner and business hub ideas to be actually brilliant differentiators but right now, they are still parked in the good idea bay.

Scott Barnes.

(image credits - Scott Barnes)

Note from WPDU: We would like to extend our thanks to Scott (aka @MossyBlog) for accepting our invite for a special guest contribution. If you are are looking for Developer tips on Design and UI and haven’t been reading his site Riagenic; where design and technology intersect, then you better start! As a companion piece, you can see his original thoughts in Week 1 of his Windows Phone 8 trial over at his blog here.