14 DAY TRIAL // Today, the cheapest handset to run under Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system went official, namely the Nokia Lumia 610. The device packs lower hardware than other Windows Phone smartphones, courtesy of a series of changes that Microsoft brought to the platform.
Along with other low-end devices to run under the new platform release, the handset will bring Microsoft’s mobile OS to more markets around the world.
To ensure that users in these areas will benefit from access to applications as well, Microsoft is releasing an update to the Windows Phone SDK.
“Today we’re releasing a technical preview of the SDK update that gives you access to the 256MB emulator to let you determine how your apps install and run on lower memory devices,” Joe Belfiore, VP, Windows phone product management, notes in a blog post.
“This preview does not include a “go live” license so you can’t publish apps created with it. A final version of the SDK, complete with the go-live license, will be available next month.”
The OS has been optimized to work on low-cost devices and to fit the 256MB of RAM these phones will include. Apparently, not all existing applications for the platform will be able to run on these phones.
“We’re contacting the developers of these apps directly to advise them of steps they can take to make their app compatible with lower cost phones. In most cases the guidance is simply to use less memory,” Belfiore explains.
“Ultimately, whether your app should be available to these phones or not is your call. We’ve enabled you to update the app manifest file in order to state whether your app does or does not work on lower memory devices. We’ll honor whatever value you choose.”
Developers can choose to opt out of having their apps installed on these devices. They can change that at any given time, make the necessary modifications to the app’s manifest file and resubmit the software.