Homebrew tool now allows creation of custom core Live Tiles

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

While the Live Tiles on Windows Phone is by far one of the coolest and most unique aspects of our OS, like apps themselves, they are "sandboxed" and cut off from the deeper OS connections. In addition, what devs can do with the Live Tiles is limited, as there are pre-defined options when making an app.

Over at XDA, user fiinix  has detailed a new project, WP7 Custom core tiles (The DllImport Project child node), that gives the code for making a much wider, more pervasive Live Tile system for homebrew users. What this means is that devs making homebrew apps could also make them with some crazy choices for Live Tiles.

How crazy? Well peep the video above to see some of the option in action. What we hope comes from this is some new inspiration for app-ideas and maybe, just maybe, Microsoft will catch wind of these new choices and maybe allow sanctioned-devs to do the same type of tile manipulation.

Source: XDA; Thanks, neoxphuse, for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

11 Comments
  • Sigh, the guys at XDA been making my phone more awesome since my days with a Samsung Blackjack. I salute thee!
  • I think the ability to implement these features into the livetiles would make the OS just that much more powerful. I'm sure Microsoft is thinking about what the best way to implement this is. I am sure it is coming at some point.
  • They need to combine this with the folders hack. I wonder if they can make it so that you have multiple live tiles inside of a big live tile?
  • You're talking about Tileception! It can't be done!
  • LOL! i'm really laughing out loud.
  • This won't come to sanctioned WP7 apps. It doesnt follow the Metro Mentality. WP7 is not about customization, its about simplicity. Haveing multiple Sizes of live tiles is the anti-metro. As is custom theme colors, etc etc etc. However as a homebrew app, Very cool. Keep it up xda. Leave the customization to the devs.
  • Blah blah blah. It's still simple. And how do you know what mental state Metro. A tile that flip three ways instead of two, WOW COMPLICATED. ugh.
  • Whether a tile is 2 tiles wide or just one isn't anti-metro. Microsoft and the phone manufacturers already put 2 wide tiles on there. Windows 8 allows for single and double wide tiles and is still considered metro.Allowing for more control over the look and feel of the tiles will come. You can already have the tiles be 100% image based, so what theme/style does that follow?!?! They need to make it easier for devs to not have to bloat the tiles with images just to get better control over text on the tiles. Any argument you have about metro style in regards to the color of a tile or the font size goes out the window when devs are allowed to use images on tiles like they do today.I welcome all the hope that the next-next version of Windows Phone represents.
  • There's no link on the source...
  • Perhaps I missed something, but I didn't see anything new. Certainly nothing that made me go "oh, wow!". My reaction was "meh". I like the tiles as they are, thanks very much.
  • Of course its new. I mean it makes your phone much more lively.For developers who are interested in having a bit more possibilities with their apps, you should take a look into Windows Phone Toolkit - August 2011 (7.1 SDK)http://silverlight.codeplex.com/releases/view/71550