Successful Windows Phone apps - a story for Microsoft Student Partners

As a Microsoft MVP in Windows Phone Development, I was invited to participate in a training event for Microsoft Student Partners from all over the world. Me, Kelly White and Nicholas Landry had around 15 minutes each to present on a development and promotion-related topic that fits in the Windows Phone training plans. My task was to dig through applications in the Windows Phone Marketplace, select the ones that are successful (trust me, there are too many) and describe why exactly those reached top heights.

I ended up putting together a presentation that describes some possible aspects that helped the above mentioned applications succeed - although I was not in any way connected to the products I am describing, it is fairly easy to see what the original developers did right.

You can download the presentation itself here.

Some points I tried to emphasize on are:

• A successful application doesn't necesarily bring income to the original developer
• Simplicty in a mobile application can go a long way
• There is always a chance to succeed if the application is filling a gap in the existing platform
• Research and user polling can help better select the target audience and understand their needs

Overall, the presenation went well, and if you were one of the MSPs who attended, I would appreciate any feedback, either by email or Twitter. You can also visit my personal blog for up-to-date information on current Windows Phone educational projects I am working on.