Windows Phone 7 phones are set for release next Monday, Nov 8 2010 in North America (though my local store seems very uninformed) and are already available in various other parts of the world.  Luckily I’ve had developer device access since September, so I’ve been able to share information with you along the way in various articles (see below) and publish a few basic applications.

If you are in North America and waiting for Windows Phone 7, particularly if you are a developer, here are a few things for you to consider doing while you wait:

• Get an App Hub subscription to publish software for the phone.
• Prepare your social and ID accounts
• Pick a phone
• Build applications
• Submit application to the marketplace via App Hub

Get an App Hub subscription to publish software for the phone

It’s US$99 (with specific local currency variations) a year to get an App Hub subscription which now allows you to submit and sell both Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360 Arcade applications for sale.  That includes the ability to publish up to 5 free applications on WP7 (US$20 for additional ones).  If you are a student you may be able to sign up for DreamSpark and get a free subscription.  Set up takes a few days including identity (personal or business) verification.

There’s an App Hub Developer Registration Walkthrough available on the process for registering for a subscription.

Prepare your social and ID accounts

WP7 brings data down automatically from various services that are associated with a single Live ID that you can optionally register on the phone.  This includes services from any associated Zune and Xbox LIVE accounts (as well as Hotmail and associated social networking site accounts).  You can also add feeds, email, calendar and contacts from optional additional accounts from various providers.  You’ll want to get your primary Live ID and service associations in a row before you get a phone.  This may take some careful planning and account configuration.

For the details on how this works, I’d suggest Paul Thurrott’s article – Getting Ready for Windows Phone 7

Pick a phone

There are a decent number of phone available at launch though there are spread over various wireless service providers.

You can go to the official Windows Phone 7 site, select your region in the top right corner and click the Buy link to see which devices are on offer.

Mobile Tech World has published a handy specification table that may help with your selection.

 

Build applications

So far I have 4 basic utility applications in the marketplace (with other more sophisticated apps on the way) which you are welcome to purchase by clicking the links below on a phone or with Zune 4.7 installed.

The first one is free of charge and you can see how it was built step by step from scratch in an article I recently published on DZone.

I’d also suggest you grab the free e-book from Microsoft Press, by Charles Petzold, Programming Windows Phone 7.

I’ve also authored a number of articles on DZone and Mobile Developer Magazine (free subscription required) including:

• An Introduction to the Windows Phone 7 Development Platform
• Hello, Windows Phone 7!
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Building and Deploying your Windows Phone 7 Applications

On Nov 15th 2010, a handy reference card will also be published on DZone for Windows Phone 7 development by .NET developers.

Submit applications to the marketplace via App Hub

There are important certification requirements you must comply with before submitting your application.

For a step-by-step example of building and submitting an application and submitting it you can see an article I recently published on DZone.

There’s also an official Windows Phone 7 Application Submission Walkthrough

The indicative certification turnaround time is 5 working days, though there are 1000+ applications queued for certification right now, so the timing may vary.

 

It’s almost time, so take the time to get yourself ready.