Mobile GIS for Microsoft Windows Phone

Esri has released a mobile geographic information system (GIS) API for the new Microsoft Windows Phone platform. The ArcGIS API for Windows Phone can be used to create interactive applications that combine mapping resources, such as maps, locators, and geoprocessing models, with Windows Phone technologies and frameworks, such as the application bar, controls, and location.

The API is available at no cost from the ArcGIS Resource Center and includes a detailed blog, forum, samples, and support. It is built on the Silverlight framework of the Windows Phone application platform, which includes existing Microsoft tools and technologies such as Visual Studio and Expression Blend. Developers already familiar with Silverlight will be able to create new applications for Windows Phone without a steep learning curve. The ArcGIS API for Windows Phone and the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) have the same architecture; therefore, you can reuse application logic in ArcGIS applications built for Windows Phone, Web, and desktop applications.

"This is a very exciting development for the Microsoft developer community because it allows us to use the tools that we're already familiar with to build a new class of applications for Windows Phone quickly and easily," says David Stampfli, technology architect at Microsoft. "The capabilities of the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone are truly impressive and will allow developers to tap into the full power of the ArcGIS platform."

The ArcGIS API for Windows Phone enables users to go beyond basic mapping. For example, users can

* Develop applications that use their own authoritative data.
* Display data on an ArcGIS Online or Bing Maps basemap.
* Add graphics and markups to a map interactively.
* Search for features or attributes within GIS data and display the results.
* Execute a GIS model using ArcGIS Server and display the results.

The API is designed to work with and use the Web services available from ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online. Developers and Esri partners can easily build applications that work with their own published Web services and use the API to create applications that can be deployed within their enterprise or to the public via Windows Marketplace.

To download or get more information about the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone, visit the ArcGIS Resource Center International users can contact their local distributor for more information.