14 DAY TRIAL // The retail version of Visual Studio 2010 is already available from Microsoft, but it seems that those Windows Phone 7 developers who are using Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP (WPDT CTP) for building applications won't benefit from its features. According to Microsoft, WPDT CTP is not compatible with the retail (RTM) release of Visual Studio 2010, and developers should keep that in mind when considering the use of the latter solution.
“The WPDT CTP was based on the Visual Studio 2010 release candidate (RC), and the updates made to Visual Studio between RC and the final RTM release causes incompatibilities with WPDT CTP. We are working to update the WPDT CTP to support the retail release of Visual Studio 2010. We will have this update available within a few weeks,” Charlie Kindel notes in a recent post on The Windows Phone Developer Blog.
Those who install the RTM version of Visual Studio 2010 on the same computer on which they have the Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP won't be able to build Windows Phone projects or applications, the blog post continues. According to Microsoft, developers who would like to have both the retail release of Visual Studio 2010 and WPDT CTP on the same machine should consider installing the former on a VPC image.
Visual Studio 2010 comes as a great development environment for Windows Phone 7, and the best way to use it while benefiting from the features of Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP is to install it on another machine. The WPDT CTP won't allow its installation on a computer where the RTM version Visual Studio 2010 is already installed, nor can it be installed on a VPC image. According to Charlie Kindel, Microsoft is working hard on providing compatibility between Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP and VS 2010 RTM and something on the matter might be announced in a few weeks, so stay tuned for more.