Windows Phone App Studio is a new website from Microsoft for building easy apps. It pretty much allows you to create static text apps, or appify your website or blog. I was a little skeptical, but since I needed to sign up for the beta to get the developer update to Windows Phone 8 GR3, I gave it a shot. I was surprised at how well it works.
The process is simple, you first upload a logo and give your app a name, and then you plan out the sections of the app. For each section you have to give a data source: A Collection which is a bunch of info you punch in; A RSS feed to get info from your website; A YouTube channel for all you film makers; A Flickr account to share your photos; A Bing search because this is a Microsoft tool; Or lastly you can just write out some HTML. Once you have setup your data source, you pick a template to display all that data on. You can also create menu’s with subsections too if you have a little more information to share.
You than get to pick the color and the icons for your app, and do a few little design tweaks, but that is all there is to it. When you are done it may look a little like the app below.
I would publish this app to the marketplace, but a full fledged developer license is $99.00 a year, and since no one pays me to blog, it will be just for me. Though if they have a special deal on a license, I may put it on the store. If I did have a business, and I wasn’t very tech savvy. I would totally pony up the money to put my app out there. It is fun and easy, and it is a good way to get your info out to your customers.
If you are looking for an easy way to make an app for your site or company, The Windows Phone App Studio is great way to do it. Since it is still in beta, I will be checking in from time to time to see what improvements they make to the site. If you have a developer unlocked phone and want a copy of my app just leave a comment below, and I will send you an email with it.