Learn to develop for Windows Phone 8.1 in one weekend with Channel 9

By Sam Sabri
last updated

Last summer we told you boys and girls about this really great video series up on Channel 9. The series was called ‘Windows Phone 8 Development for Absolute Beginners’. It was an 11+ hour series that taught absolute beginners how to develop for Windows Phone 8. Now there’s a sequel up on Channel 9 that will do the same for Windows Phone 8.1.

Bob Tabor, Larry Lieberman and Matthias Shapiro are back to teach you all about developing for Windows Phone 8.1. The series is again aimed at beginners and will teach you the basics of things like:

  • Windows Phone UI with XAML layout and events
  • Navigation model
  • Application lifecycle
  • Working with the Windows Phone Emulator
  • Understanding MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel)
  • HTML apps in the WebView
  • Storage
  • Maps
  • Animations
  • Media (Video/Audio with the MediaElement control)

The series will walk you through building five different apps and covers a range of scenarios. You’ll even learn how to make that Windows Phone app a universal Windows app to target Windows 8.1.

Anyone at all interested in developing apps for Windows Phone 8.1 is encouraged to check out the free videos. We’re excited to see a host of new developers on Windows Phone get started through Channel 9 and we can’t wait to see what you build.

Hit up the source link below to check out the series, get the source code and a PDF version of everything!

Source: Channel 9

Thanks for the tip Jason!

Sam Sabri
Sam Sabri
60 Comments
  • Cool
  • Channel 9 needs an official good app on WP
  • +920
  • What? The windows developers site doesn't have a Windows App?! Wow.
  • You could always watch the vids then make one yourself... Just sayin
  • They have one, just browse through the market :D
  • Am interested a lot !
    Though I'm not a beginner to programming, i am a beginner to app development, and have 2 months free coming up for me after 2 weeks. Good news for me.
    How long would it take if i know basic programming in java (netbeans), c++ and have a 125+ IQ (means i dont have to repeat things which wastes time) ? :-P any guesses anyone ?
  • It depends... an app can take from 1 weekend up to several months, even for experts...
  • Two months learning programming or two months hookers and beer... Decisions decisions
  • Exactly.
  • WPC need more on-topic titles like: Beginners guide to develop for WP 8.1 . Or something like that. Not miracle titles
  • I'm ready! I'm ready! Lol
  • Awesome
  • Can't wait to watch this series.
  • These sequel episode you mean? :D
  • Excellent idea!!!!
  • Can i learn without having the knowledge of programing?
  • Check out the App Star section.
  • You should watch the C# Ch.9 absolute beginners series first.
  • yeah, i just started with the C# fundamentals, and it's reaaaaaaally for beginners. I had some programming in college (15 years ago), and that was it. So I'm basically a noob, but the C# ch9 for beginners is really "easy", and he is an excellent tutor. Things really make sense so far.
  • Agree, without this you'll have no idea what's going on with WP programming.
  • Exactly! When I read this title I said to my self, "What if I don't know a damn thing about programming?" That would be truly amazing for me.
  • Cool, I'm interested in creating an app ... Leaning towards a Universal one. Thanks guys !
  • Let us know when you make your app, so we can download it :)
  • I'll! Thanks :)
  • I've started with channel 9's videos too, name's RightHere but it's in Portuguese and I'm still translating it to English...
  • If you want to add more languages say it.....i can help you in Greek if you want. My app is on the design process, but i think it will be ready in summer.
  • Yes I'd like very much. I've sent you a PM :)
     
  • Okay :)
  • For now you can download the application that I developed. Its called "NewYorkEvents". Its available in the store. Please send me your reviews/comments. Request the WP community to show some support and give some reviews/comments to make it better. Thanks people...
  • I did this when 7.5 mango came out and it was amazing how easy it was considering I had limited c# experience. I highly.recommend the channel 9 series to any new beginner and Bob Tabor is amazing
  • Maybe we'll be seeing even more weather apps, then. ;)
  • Hahaha
    Yes i plan to make one when i get the hang of it.. Many more would be like me..
  • All those weather apps and still no perfect one that does everything :/... As it is, I have to keep three weather apps on my phone because each has a feature that the other doesn't have! Ex. Vieather... Beautiful UI, multiple locations, no radar, no weather alerts, no lightning detector, no storm tracker...4castr... Beautiful UI, weather alerts, ugly radar, no multiple locations, no lightning detector,... Weather Bug... Radar, lightning tracker, multiple locations, weather alerts, ugly UI, no storm tracker... No way to disable ads... Sky Motion, beautiful UI, basic weather, but will give you updates on storm info in minute intervals so you know exactly when the rain will hit you, nothing else... Rad Now... Beautiful radar powered by Bing, nothing else... And I can go on and on... Every weather app becomes the flavor of the month for me except the last two are always on my phone because Sky Motion powered by Accuweather has a feature that no other weather app has, not even Accuweather and Rad Now does radar better than any other app... For all other features, I can't have all in one app. These are important to me because I'm an industrial electrical foreman in construction and I need all this information to keep my workers safe!
  • Boys and girls? I don't see no girls over here!
  • Ahem...
  • see? I see one :p
  • Thanks for this guys... Was looking for tutorials and how to start developing apps... Much obliged. If u guys know of other sources tho would appreciate it... Thanks
  • I am hoping it is truly for beginners. I have no relevant programming experience.
  • You should watch his C# videos on Channel 9 first before you start this series. That's what I'm doing right now.
  • is it boring????
  • I don't think it's boring at all, I've always wanted to learn programming so it was exciting to me. He doesn't ever sound monotonous and the pace seemed perfect for me when I was learning C#, except that I pause a couple of times to make sure I have my code right, but Bob Tabor even says you should do that in the videos.
  • I have followed that 11 hour video course... It's nice but its far from perfect . Lot of questions staid unanswered and the downloadable codes are not the same as used in the series.
    A piece of advice of getting a quick answer....use a female alias and a sexy avatar ..somehow that works of getting attention of the hostesses of the site.
  • There's some rocks you'll have to break yourself...
  • Not necessarily....if they build this course for beginners and al ages...they should maintain their uploads. That's how things work. As a formal tutor I know that's the very base on education....k.i.s. Keep it simple
  • Does anyone facing problem with facebook / facebook beta in synchronization with people hub?
  • Same here...it fail to sync...
  • Great resource.  
  • I'm assuming since we can make these universal apps, the lessons are pretty platform-agnostic? I need to make a Modern app and phone functionality would just be icing on the cake, but I'm not against starting on the phone side.
  • Bob Tabor's videos are the best!
  • I guess we can expect a few more weather apps coming soon :-)
  • WOW! I want it! Hehehe I'll try to learn ;-)
  • Awesome, I always like to check out this series. Was hoping they would do one on the WP 8.1 SDK.
  • The Bob Tabor series, whilst very comprehensive, can seem very slow paced to anyone but an absolute beginner (at which the course is aimed). Anyone with a little experience would probably be better off with this new jumpstart series instead http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Building-Apps-for-Windows-Phone-8-1
  • I am a girl. And planning on making my first app soon.
  • Might have to restart this. I did the C# series and it was good stuff but alas life and work took precedence. Glad its out there for all though.
  • Can I make an app ala Asphalt 8 after learning this? :D
  • Thanks a lot Sam! I just upgraded to windows 8.1 from 7 and was on the lookout for how to begin developing for phone.
  • Would I be able to make a camera app from these videos? I'm not just talking about filters and stuff, but actually using phone hardware like the accelerometer and shutter, etc.
  • Just remember that only a basic app is easy. I see far too many people claiming that you can build an app in a weekend, which you can, but only a good programmer can do anything advanced. Most of the apps you use took months to build by a team of professional programmers. They weren't put together by newbs like most of us. My point? Don't get discouraged when you've spent a month hacking through WP design and code and your app still sucks. Programming, like anything worthwhile in life, is an iterative process.