Masabi » Mobile

How to make a Windows Phone 7 app in 5 minutes

Will — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:31:19 +0000

how to make a windows phone 7 app in 5 minutes

With a future release of the UK rail ticketing app for Windows Phone 7 (WP7) coming up, we wanted to familiarise ourselves with how to provide pre-release versions to clients for feedback. In addition, we wanted to find out in advance how to submit a WP7 app to be made available to the public, as this would uncover any hidden roadblocks that might affect our lead times when publishing the app for real. Expect us to blog about the process of submitting a live app at a later date – at the moment we’ve just been testing the beta process.

the 5 minute app

So to discover how Microsoft have approached this part of application development, we first wanted to make a simple and fun application which served no real purpose other than to test out the process. There was never any requirement to launch this app live, but it obviously had to do at least something, so I spent just a few minutes quickly making the ‘oblongs!’ application. The original aim was to simply make it draw a square on a canvas at the point where the user touched.

To get the simple application up and running quickly I just went to the usual New Project wizard in Visual Studio and selected a new Windows Phone Application. You can also do this on the free Express version for Windows Phone 7.

This sets up the structure of a basic application with a single Page, containing the standard application and page title sections (the small and large headings respectively), and a large blank ‘Grid’ object. At this point I simply just set the grid’s background colour, and then made a ‘MouseLeftButtonUp’ event listener (which visual studio makes incredibly simple), and then moved over to the C# file where the real magic began. I then wrote this in my event listener:

private void ContentPanel_MouseLeftButtonUp(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)

{

Point pos = e.GetPosition(ContentPanel);

Double width = ContentPanel.ActualWidth;

Double height = ContentPanel.ActualHeight;

Rectangle r = new Rectangle();

r.Width = OBLONG_SIZE;

r.Height = OBLONG_SIZE;

r.Margin = new Thickness(pos.X-(OBLONG_SIZE/2), pos.Y-(OBLONG_SIZE/2), 0, 0);

r.Fill = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);

ContentPanel.Children.Add(r);

}

It’s really nothing fancy, but was just enough to ensure that there would be some level of interaction, but ultimately remaining little more than a glorified ‘Hello world!’ application.

Our initial go at it led to a slight problem where the squares weren’t actually appearing where the user tapped, so we updated it to fix this bug and added some random colours to make it more exciting, giving us this:

private void ContentPanel_MouseLeftButtonUp(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)

{

Point pos = e.GetPosition(ContentPanel);

Double width = ContentPanel.ActualWidth;

Double height = ContentPanel.ActualHeight;

Rectangle r = new Rectangle();

r.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;

r.VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Top;

r.Width = OBLONG_SIZE;

r.Height = OBLONG_SIZE;

r.Margin = new Thickness(pos.X-(OBLONG_SIZE/2), pos.Y-(OBLONG_SIZE/2), 0, 0);

r.Fill = GetRandomColour();

ContentPanel.Children.Add(r);

}

private Brush GetRandomColour()

{

Random r = new Random();

int value = r.Next(5);

switch (value)

{

case 0:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);

case 1:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Blue);

case 2:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Green);

case 3:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Magenta);

case 4:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Orange);

case 5:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Yellow);

default:

return new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Black);

}

Here’s a quick demo of it in action:

publishing the app

As a bit of background, different platforms have different approaches to the process of getting development versions of applications on to test devices. For example, when distributing pre-release versions of an Android app you can sign them with a self signed development certificate. These certificates are used to verify the authenticity of the application author. Once signed, any phone can load it via their phone’s web browser, email client, etc. (so long as they’ve set their device to allow applications from “untrusted” sources).

In contrast, iOS developers are required to first create certificates through Apple with which applications can then be signed, but then the user is required to install the certificate and application via iTunes only.

Differences aside, the turnaround time for getting from a developer’s computer onto a device for both of these approaches is in the region of a few minutes at most.

For Windows Phone, it’s sadly not quite as simple as Android, but also didn’t initially appear to be as involved as Apple. Once we got further in, though, it became apparent that it was neither easier nor harder than either, but definitely different.

distributing as a beta

Microsoft offer a “Beta Distribution option” when going through the app submission process. When you pick this, it bypasses the longer process of Microsoft verifying that the application meets their requirements, but in return makes it available to only up to 100 users, identified by their Live ID. So we proudly uploaded our 5 minute ‘oblongs!’ app, selected this beta option, and set my own personal Windows Phone’s account as a recipient.

At the time of submission they claimed the application would be available within two hours – not as fast as Android or iOS, but not the end of the world either.

Another thing that became apparent at this point (which as a busy developer was quite convenient) was that the application signing is done by Microsoft automatically after uploading, and it wasn’t expected that I, the developer, do this manually. With the application uploaded, I got back to developing the rail application, secretly keeping an eye on the clock for my two hours to be complete.

Those two hours turned out to be more like 24, and from looking on the internet this was not uncommon.

go live!

An email arrived after four or so hours with a download link, but the link didn’t work and just returned a very generic message and rather human unfriendly error code (805a0194). However given more time, once it was available, the process was very simple indeed.

The email contains a link to be used on the phone which launches the ‘Marketplace’ app on the phone, and was displaying my application. It appeared like any other publicly available application, with the standard pivot offering reviews, screenshots, etc.

some other things we learned:

Once uploaded and approved (approximately 24 hours later), the time required to add new users to be able to access the application was nothing more than adding their email address via a form in the ‘App Hub’ and it was made available to them immediately. This will be very useful for us, as we naturally have clients wanting pre-release versions of the app on multiple devices, but they won’t have all the devices to hand.

Details of the app including description text and screenshots are available via a website to people that know the link. While it’s quite improbable that anyone might guess the link, it’s worth being wary of uploading anything particularly sensitive, like unannounced applications or development currently still under NDA.

In the interests of security, we did also check and can confirm that even though the link may be guessable, it is not possible for unauthorised people to actually download the app.

Rather annoyingly you aren’t able to offer an ‘upgrade’ to an application in beta. You have to explicitly remove the old version and then make a new submission. This might appear a minor inconvenience, but there were two issues for us. Firstly that you can’t use it to test any migration of stored application data (if for example, internal data structures have changed) as it will be wiped when the app is removed. Secondly, you’re potentially in for another 24 hour wait! It would be nice if, as the platform matures, Microsoft could make the upgrade process available for beta applications. While we are obviously able to test upgrades on our development machines, experience has taught me that you might get real world cases that behave differently to a finite list of test scenarios that we tested against.

Overall the experience was definitely a positive one. Microsoft allow up to 100 recipients for a beta application which is plenty for its intended usage. Also, the removal of the requirement of manual code signing was certainly welcome, as this can be confusing to developers who’ve not come from a background of having to sign code before.

I’m definitely feeling more confident with the process now, and I’m glad these lessons were learned in advance of the day the client was expecting a preview.

We’re really looking forward to the release of our first ever Windows Phone 7 app so stay tuned on this blog and our Twitter @Masabi_com for more news! Alternatively, contact us to learn more about our development ecosystem.

Steven Gurr
Mobile Application Engineer

A Guide to mTicketing – Transport Ticketing Webinar

Will — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:27:58 +0000

a guide to mTicketing – transport ticketing webinar

Masabi’s CEO Ben Whitaker presented a live webinar about mTicketing technology on Wednesday last week (11th Jan) to hundreds of transport industry leaders. If you missed it live, you can still catch Ben and the rest of the presenters by clicking on the link below.

Click here to watch the webinar.

You can also find out more about mTicketing by meeting us at Transport Ticketing 2012 or by emailing us on contact@masabi.com

Masabi at Transport Ticketing 2012

Will — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:16:05 +0000

mticketing takes centre stage at flagship event

Transport Ticketing 2012 kicks off the New Year as the first major event in the Masabi calendar and it really is a ‘must attend’ for those interested in mTicketing. This year, Masabi is exhibiting, speaking and sponsoring, and we’re looking forward to meeting some of the transport industry’s most influential figures to discuss the latest developments in mTicketing technology.

“As increasing amounts of people use public transport every day, it has become critical to look at new means of ticketing which are cost-effective, scalable and – above all – user-friendly. Masabi has pioneered a mobile ticketing revolution in transport, proving themselves to be world leaders in the next generation of ticketing and fare collection. Make sure you join us at Transport Ticketing 2012 in January to gain practical insight into the new technologies that are changing the global ticketing landscape.” – Tim Headley, Marketing Manager, Clarion Events.

webinar – the guide to mobile ticketing

In the build up to the event, at 15:00 GMT on Wednesday 11th January, Masabi CEO Ben Whitaker will join Thomas Ableman from Chiltern Railways and Stephen Stonall Henningsen from Movia in a free webinar providing an overview of mTicketing and the potential it holds for transport operators. Following the presentations, there will be an opportunity to participate in a live Q&A session with Ben and the other speakers. Click here to view the mTicketing webinar agenda and sign up free of charge.

mTicketing presentations at transport ticketing 2012

At the event Ben will be speaking on a panel debating the merits of smartcard ticketing, alongside; Nigel Eggleton, Veolia TransDev Blazefield; Chris Shoukry, The ALCO Group; Mike Cowan, MasterCard; and Mick Davies, LASSeO. You can catch Ben and the rest of the panel at 16:00 on Thursday 26th January. Click here to see a detailed agenda for the talk and the rest of the event.

Earlier on that day, at 09:50, Chiltern Railways Marketing Manager, Thomas Ableman, will present a talk entitled ‘The UK’s first mTicketing scheme for railways – realise the financial potential of mobile ticketing’. The presentation will discuss the business case behind the mTicketing technology developed in partnership with Masabi & Atos that is now live on the train operator’s routes, as well as the key steps towards a practical implementation of mTicketing on transport networks.

exhibition and demonstrations

Masabi will also be exhibiting at the event and will be demonstrating a range of mTicketing services now live across multiple transport operators. Feel free to stop by and see our technology in action!

We’re really looking forward to Transport Ticketing 2012 and hope to see you there!

If you’re going to be at the event and would like to meet, please contact us to schedule a meeting.

Transport Ticketing 2012 takes place in London, 24th-26th January – click here to register for the event.

Masabi’s 2011 Roundup

Will — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:09:40 +0000

masabi’s 2011 roundup

The past twelve months have been great for Masabi and the adoption of Transport mTicketing. As 2011 draws to a close we would like to take the opportunity to reflect some of our achievements and how our technology is helping make life easier for everyday transport users!

mTicketing goes live

2011 was the beachhead year for mTicketing in the UK transport network. This year, alongside our partners at thetrainline, Atos and numerous Train Operating Companies, Masabi successfully launched no fewer than 10 different mTicketing apps that enabled our partners’ passengers to check train times and buy tickets on almost any mobile device. Launch highlights:

March – thetrainline and Virgin Trains launch mTicketing apps

May – Chiltern Railways launches mTicketing app and becomes the first rail franchise in the UK to accept mTickets on selected routes.

September – CrossCountry Trains launches mTicketing app with live train times and mTickets on Advance tickets for CrossCountry services. Chiltern Railways also updates their app to include live train times.

October – First TransPennine Express and First Hull Trains both launch mTicketing apps

December – ScotRail and ticket retailer Redspottedhanky.com both launch mTicketing apps

new features and updates

We have continued to evolve our services, adding new features and functionality, and responding to user feedback. Here are just some of the awesome new features that we’ve added over the course of the year:

Group Purchase – we’ve improved the app experience for passengers travelling together by adding the ability to buy tickets for up to eight people at a time. Group Railcards such as ‘Family & Friends’ can also now be used in the app.

Live Train Times – on selected apps, you can now – for free – get live information about your journey, such as platform numbers and estimated delay times, and you can even view your train’s live progress as it goes along.

Readable mTickets – we invented a whole new way for staff to check passengers’ mTickets securely without using a barcode scanner. All you do is activate your ticket just before you get on your train, and show your mTicket to the member of staff. They can check your mTicket visually with the help of the animated colours on the ticket, and let you carry on with your journey hassle-free!

Journey Planner 2.0 – we upgraded the journey planner with live information to help you make better decisions when you plan a journey. The upgraded journey planner lets you view live train times, delays and platform information next to ticket prices when you book a ticket for a train departing soon.

Seat Reservation – you can now reserve a seat when you book a ticket on the app. This is a great feature for passengers on long distance journeys, when getting a guaranteed seat can be a real life saver!

Improved Android Support – we added lots of great little features to allow our app to be used on the majority of Android phones. These include support for all Android screen sizes, support for Android versions 1.6 and above (Ice Cream Sandwich coming soon!), support for custom keyboards and the ability to save the app to SD card.

record haul of industry awards

It was a multi-award winning year for Masabi as we gained considerable recognition. Our biggest accolades:

rapid growth for team masabi

2011 was also a vintage year for Masabi in terms of company growth. Since January we have more than doubled in size and now have over 30 employees – and we’re still looking for lots more! This eventually led to our office move across the road to 56 Ayres Street.

Moreover, to support our expansion overseas, and to grow the company even further, we made headlines in early November when we announced that we had secured $4m in Series B funding from our investors at m8 Capital.

on the horizon for 2012

2012 is shaping up to be a big year for Masabi. More launches in the pipeline – along with more great updates and additional features – are all driving mTicketing towards mass market adoption on UK rail networks.

Looking further afield, we’re making plans to establish mTicketing in the US too, where Masabi is already receiving strong interest from a number of transport networks.

We look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year!

Mobile Marketing Magazine Celebrates mTicketing on Chiltern Railways

Will — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:48:32 +0000

mobile marketing magazine celebrates mticketing on chiltern railways

The mTicketing solution pioneered by Masabi, Chiltern Railways & Atos appears in the December 2011 issue of Mobile Marketing Magazine. The feature follows our success at the Effective Mobile Marketing awards, which took place in November. You can read the article below:

Open publication – Free publishing – More mobile

Top Mobile Travel Tip from First TransPennine Express

Will — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:14:03 +0000

top mobile travel tip from first transpennine express

First TransPennine Express have just released a new video showcasing their various way in which passengers can get information about train journeys. The first top piece of advice they give is to download the FTExpress mobile app to get train times and buy tickets on your phone. They also mention that “…it’ll work on your smartphone, BlackBerry or even on your old Nokia style phone!“, so this really is an awesome tip that almost all passengers with a mobile can benefit from.

We think the video is a great way to let passengers know how to get journey information and buy tickets wherever, whenever.

To get the app, text ‘TPEAPP‘ to 86688 or search for ‘TPExpress’ on your device’s app store.

Audio Track: Masabi CEO Presents mTicketing – Concept to Reality

Will — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:09:55 +0000

Travel 2020 recently published their exhibitor talks from their brilliant 2011 show. Among them was CEO Ben Whitaker, presenting an illuminating argument for mTicketing as a way of solving many of the most pressing problems facing the UK rail industry. Keep listening to the end for a thought-provoking final point from Ben.

Click on the link below to listen to Ben’s talk, and follow the second link to access the accompanying presentation slides:

Ben Whitaker: mTicketing – Concept to Reality (audio)

Ben Whitaker: mTicketing – Concept to Reality (presentation slides)

If you’re interested in finding out more about any aspect of Ben’s talk, please contact us or leave a comment below.

Acclaim for Masabi in Industry Awards

Will — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:33:59 +0000

acclaim for masabi in industry awards

As Masabi recently celebrated a year of live mTicketing apps in the UK, a second round of investment, and a rapidly growing user base, recent awards and accolades have given us even more to smile about. The work spent laying the foundation for the technology that people are now using everyday to purchase transport tickets is now beginning to come to fruition, paying dividends in awards and recognition.

Our most impressive win was at the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards 2011, where we picked up the award for “Most Effective Mobile Ticketing Solution”. The award, run by Mobile Marketing Magazine, was shared with our partners at Chiltern Railways and Atos. Masabi CPO Giacomo Biggiero and Emma Palmer from Chiltern Railways attended the ceremony on the night and collected the award on behalf of the companies. We’re delighted to accept this high-profile accolade and look forward to collaborating with Chiltern Railways and Atos in the future to build on this award-winning service.

Our victory in the Red Herring Top 100 Europe earlier this year has been followed up by a spot in the 2011 Red Herring Global Finalist shortlist.

Masabi’s work in transforming the travel industry was highly commended by the TechCrunch Europas 2011, which celebrates the best growing technology businesses in Europe.

Masabi also appeared as a finalist for ‘Best App Developer’ in the ME Awards 2011, an event run every year by Mobile Entertainment Magazine.

Most recently, we have been shortlisted for the London Transport Awards 2012. We’re up for two awards, having been nominated in the ‘Most Innovative Transport Project’ and ‘Excellence in Technology’ categories. Wish us luck for the winners announcement on the 21st March 2012!

Follow @Masabi_com on Twitter for more news as it happens, or click here to see the awards we have won to date for our work.

Masabi on Panel at MWC 2012

Will — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:23:44 +0000

masabi on panel at mwc 2012

Keep your eyes glued to the big screen on the Avenida this February: Masabi CEO Ben Whitaker is set to appear on the main speaker panel on the opening day of the world’s biggest mobile event.

The session is entitled “Apps for all: how apps are changing our lives” and will bring together the world’s foremost mobile app experts. The session will explore the apps that are changing people’s lives, the secret to their financial success, and the future evolution of the industry.

You can watch Ben on the panel at MWC 2012 on Monday 27th February from 14.30-16.00.

Silicon Milkroundabout Impressions

Will — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:11:29 +0000

silicon milkroundabout impressions

The Masabi team were out in full force on Sunday to attend the hugely popular Silicon Milkroundabout recruitment event and talk to all manner of developers, testers and other startup job hunters about the great opportunities we have on offer. From a company’s perspective, the event was hugely successful. Finding technically skilled people is an incredible challenge in a job market that is dominated by often overly aggressive recruitment companies, who seem to be the sole gatekeepers to a large development community.

Many startups can scarcely afford outrageous recruiter fees, so it was positively rejuvenating to go down to SMR on Sunday and meet face-to-face with developers who want to work at a startup on their own initiative, and do something amazing as a job. Here are some of our overall impressions of the event and why we’re pushing to have another one as soon as possible.

the venue

The Truman Brewery on Brick Lane was excellent location to hold the event, boasting both great transport links and a sizeable exhibition hall. The first SMR event – held in a bar – was awesome, but slightly suffered from its own popularity as there was barely enough room to move. This time the organisers got it spot on, booking a large space to maximise the amount of people and startups attending, while making sure the event was bustling and thriving without being jam-packed.

the organisation

Top marks to Anais Conijn and the rest of Songkick for their excellent organisation of the whole event. The regular email updates, use of Google Docs to collectively organise time schedules, and the pitch selection process were all fantastically managed and ensured that everyone felt that they were not only in good hands, but also being treated fairly. Bonus points were also scored for making sure recruiters were strictly kept out to prevent candidates being poached – one of the main drivers for the event in the first place.

From the attendees side, it was refreshing to see a conference that was obviously well-run and had good facilities but was not at all formal or stuffy. Everyone there was very friendly and casual, and this quite appropriately meant that job hunters could have a good chin-wag with the companies on the stands without the fear that they were under scrutiny from sharp-suited ‘company representatives’.

the companies

Over 100 tech startups came from all over London to showcase what great places they are to work and to prove that there is an alternative to the daily hum-drum of your average office.

The key advantages of working at startups rather than large companies are their game-changing products and services, innovative business models and the fact that they are really, really cool places to work. These were mirrored in the whacky and wonderful pitches on display and brought to life by the enthusiasm and animation of the teams exhibiting on them.

It would have been an amazing event to get to know some of the other startups, only we were all too busy talking to new recruits! (Incidentally, this is why we’ve only got a handful of photos, taken just before the action kicked off.)

the hype

The event couldn’t have been such a huge success without the coverage it received from mainstream media outlets such as WIRED, the Evening Standard, the FT and others. Indeed, the community did sterling work in getting to word out to an army of journalists, bloggers and tweeters, which raised the profile of an already buzzing event and demonstrated that the startup community has a powerful collective voice that says – “We want you to work for us!”

The twittersphere in particular proved instrumental for generating hype in the community at large, providing a public platform for anyone to share related thoughts, opinions, articles and blogs. It was also great to talk to people who had read our blog post about startup job hunting and had taken our advice to heart.

random cool stuff

There was loads of really awesome stuff to keep people entertained and emulate the fun, informal working environment that many startups have to offer. Big thanks go to Graze.com for providing a ton of free snack boxes; Shazam for providing complimentary drinks at the bar; Twilio for sponsoring the chill-out area, where there were bean bags, arcade games etc.; StackOverflow for curating the stage and AV for the video pitches (and providing free job listings); and, finally, SkillsMatter for giving out free copies of Open Source Journal. Special mention also goes to whoever brought the friendly dog that was running around all day. I’m also told that one company brought a pet snake.

the people

Above all else, the success of this event depended on awesome people to attend it. It was unprecedented to see so many skilled developers gathered in one place, all eager to look for new opportunities and learn about startup life. For both the companies and the recruits, there was a real value in being able to meet each other face-to-face and test the water before (rather than after) going through the formal hiring process.

The Masabi stand was overwhelmed by talented prospects looking for their next big challenge, and we hope to follow up with as many of these people as possible in the next few days and make some offers! Lastly, we’d like to thank everyone who got stuck into the startup spirit and came down on the day to make the event such a great success.

overall

It was the perfect event to bring the startup community together and create some awesome opportunities for motivated developers and companies alike.

Recruitment is one of the most resource-hungry but necessary activities that startups must engage in to build a strong team and make their visions a reality. Half of building a successful company is finding the right people to work there, and Silicon Milkroundabout will have done a great job if we manage to find even one bright spark (though we’re confident we’ll get many more). The Masabi team sincerely hopes that the event is made into a regular calendar fixture because there are loads of fast growing companies out there – including us – who are always in need of talented recruits!

Meet us at Silicon Milkroundabout and interested in following up?

Head over to our careers page to check out our available positions and full job specs, or…

Get in touch right away by sending a direct mail the Masabist you met – or mail us on jobs@masabi.com – with your CV and cover letter, explaining what you think you can contribute to the team.

We’d love to hear from you!

P.S. Word from the Silicon Milkroundabout site is that the next event should be dropping around May 2012 – so register with them to stay tuned for more info!