Many of you have heard about PhoneGap (aka Apache Cordova), the popular open source framework you can use to create mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. PhoneGap has supported the Windows Phone platform since Windows Phone 7.5, and had a major update to support new capabilities in Windows Phone 8, including Internet Explorer 10.
Today, we’re launching a Porting Challenge and inviting developers who have used PhoneGap to publish apps in other stores – for example, Apple iTunes, Google Play, Blackberry World, Bada, Symbian, or Palm OS – to take any of their existing PhoneGap apps, published in any store, and port it to Windows Phone 8, like the Untappd app recently ported to Windows Phone 8.
Members of a panel selected from Microsoft, the Adobe PhoneGap team, and industry experts will choose 20 winners, based on apps that are:
- Original
- Innovative
- Easy to use
- Engaging and visually appealing to the user
The panel will pick 3 grand prize winners who each will receive a Windows Phone 8 device and a Surface Pro, and 17 first prize winners who each will receive a Windows Phone 8 device. All winning apps will be evaluated for featured slots in the Windows Phone Store.
The challenge starts today, May 20, 2013. You have through June 30, 2013, to submit your app for this porting challenge. Winners will be announced July 19, 2013, at the PhoneGap Day event in Portland, Oregon. The challenge is open to developers in all countries/regions where Windows Phone Dev Center registration is available. Read the complete rules for all the details before you sign up at http://www.phonegapwpchallenge.com/.
Whether you’re a seasoned PhoneGap developer new to Windows Phone, or if you’re new to PhoneGap, I encourage you check the pointers on how to get started on the challenge site: http://www.phonegapwpchallenge.com/Home/Resources
We have a 5-minute video tutorial that shows you how to set up PhoneGap with Visual Studio, and a few other detailed tutorials. We’ve also collected tips & tricks to adapt WebKit-optimized HTML5 code to Internet Explorer 10, and how to give your app UI a Windows Phone look and feel.
If you’re curious to see examples of published Windows Phone apps that were built using the PhoneGap framework, head over to the PhoneGap website to browse their Windows Phone app gallery.
Ready, set, go!
JC Cimetiere
@jccim