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Nokia Conversations

We were thrilled last year when Nelson Carillo, a developer in the United States, took the initiative to create a Nokia Conversations app for the Windows Phone Store.

[do action=”boxout”]Get the Nokia Conversations app

NokConv for WP8
  1. Press the Search button on your Nokia Lumia and then tap Vision
  2. Scan the QR code
  3. Tap on the link when it appears on the screen
  4. Install the application from the Windows Phone Store

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The app was slick and showed off our content brilliantly. It was the perfect way to stay in touch with all things Nokia on your Lumia smartphone.

We are now equally delighted to say that Nelson has now updated the app for Windows Phone 8, which takes advantage of the platform by adding new features, such as multiple-size Live Tile support.

I have the wide Tile on my Nokia Lumia 820’s Start screen right now and it looks great!

To find out more about the new version of the app, I spoke to Nelson himself.

What differences will people notice about the Windows Phone 8 version of the Nokia Conversations app?

The most immediate change noticed by people will likely be the new Live Tile. It was a request I’ve heard many times and with Windows Phone 8 the platform became flexible enough for me to add this feature.

Another change that keen eyed users will notice is that I’ve moved the comments to be a swipe away to the right. The two regions scroll independently so you won’t lose your place in the comments if you decide to go back and re-read the article.

How would you compare between developing for Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8?

Nelson Carillo

I’d say that Windows Phone 8 fills in a lot of the gaps that was present in the Windows Phone 7 platform, and enables a host of new scenarios. So on a high level it brings some features that people will appreciate.

Specifically to the NokConv app though, Windows Phone 8 introduced a degree of commonality with Windows 8, which increased the amount of code I share across my projects.

How long did the Windows Phone 8 version of the app take to do? Was it fairly straightforward, or did you have to start from scratch?

I started to work on the Windows Phone 8 update around the end of January and finished about a month later. The process was completely straightforward.

I didn’t think about porting to Windows Phone 8 as much as I thought about adding new features once the port was done. That’s a good thing. Microsoft has made this process pretty seamless.

Nokia Conversations

Nokia Conversations

Are there new features you still wish to incorporate in future updates?

Yes! Definitely. I want to expand on the Live Tile support and make the app work in the background a lot more comprehensively. Platform integration is big for me so you’ll see a lot more in the way of that.

What’s the general feedback that you’ve had about the app?

I’ve heard a lot of good things. People love the performance of the app and how fluid the interface is.

Feedback is important to help guide my planning for future versions. Chances are if you’ve left me a review, I’ve read it and incorporated it into my plans.

I’ve sometimes been surprised by things that people view as essential to have, so it’s always good to hear from the people that use my app.