We’re running a couple of *free* training events in Redmond (May 18-19) and Santa Clara, CA (May 25-26) to help developers get a jump-start on building applications for Windows Phone 7.

Ben Riga has all the details

This class is rated as 300-400 level so you should expect some hardcore learning here. The agenda topics include:

• Windows Phone 7 introduction & design philosophy
• Lap Around Windows Phone 7 platform
• Lap Around the Developer and Designer tools
• Introduction to Silverlight
• Building Silverlight Applications for Windows Phone 7
• Hardware Access (camera, accelerometer, touch, etc.)
• Push notifications
• Marketplace
• Introduction to XNA
• XNA and Windows Phone 7
• Performance tips

I will be at the event in Santa Clara. I’m really looking forward to this training and working with my colleagues on how we can extend this to other cities. If you’re coming out or in the area, let me know. We can meet up and discuss that Windows Phone app idea that will make you millions! :)

On Monday, May 10th, in partnership with the Madison .NET Users Group, we will be hosting a Windows Phone 7 Hands-On Lab. This is all about getting your hands dirty with the Windows Phone 7 Tools. I will be leading the group through a series of labs for building Windows Phone 7 apps. We’ll start with a brief overview of the application platform followed by labs on building Windows Phone apps with Silverlight and than games with XNA.

What: MADdotNET Hands-On-Lab Series: Windows Phone 7
When: Monday, May 10, 2010, 1:00PM – 6:00PM
Where: Herzing College (5218 East Terrace Drive, Madison)

This is a BYOM Lab. Bring-Your-Own-Machine. You’ll get more out of this if you can follow along with the labs.

You should come prepared with the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools loaded and ready to go. We’ll use the Windows Phone 7 Training Kit as the basis of our content for the labs.

Here is a  list of links to everything you need…

Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP – April Refresh

Windows Phone 7 Training Kit

(Optional)

Microsoft Expression Blend® 4 Release Candidate (RC)

Expression Blend Add-in Preview 2 for Windows Phone

Expression Blend Software Development Kit (SDK) Preview 2 for Windows Phone

You can read Rob Cameron’s blog post for help on getting the latest tools (April Refresh) installed.  Specifically if you’ve installed prior versions of the Phone Developer Tools.

Please note, as dictated in the Release Notes – No, you can’t install the environment in VPC. However, with Windows 7, I have set up a Boot-to-VHD environment that works very well. Scott Hanselman has a great post on getting a Boot-to-VHD environment up and running.

Yesterday, we posted an update to the Windows Phone 7 Training Kit and updated all the bits to work with the April Refresh of the Windows Phone 7 Tools and Visual Studio 2010 (RTM). This kit includes some great content to get a jump-start on building apps targeted for Windows Phone 7.

The kit includes the videos from all the Windows Phone breakout sessions at MIX’10, as well as hands-on labs covering Windows Phone Fundamentals, Silverlight for Windows Phone and XNA Framework 4.0 for Windows Phone.

There is a new lab in this rev of the kit on Using Push Notifications. This particular lab walks through a scenario of a Weather application that receives updates through the Push Notification service even in times when the app isn’t running. Push Notifications is an important piece in the Windows Phone development paradigm as it gives applications the ability to receive process notifications in the background. I’d highly recommend going through this lab as Push Notifications is an area that most Windows Phone developers will need to get a good handle on.

Enjoy!

During the craziness of my week last week, with the Visual Studio 2010 Launch event in Chicago and the Chicago Code Camp, a little nugget of useful information passed through my radar that I’ve been waiting to tell everyone for a couple of weeks now.

There has been an update to the Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools that now work within the RTM version (shipping version) of Visual Studio 2010. If you’ve been holding out in upgrading VS2010 to RTM because the WP7 tools were not compatible, wait no more.

Rob Cameron provides a nice little walkthrough on what you need to clean from your machine in preparation for the new bits, as well as links to the new download links including an update to Expression Blend 4 RC.

Don’t forget, if you don’t have Visual Studio 2010, don’t fret as the Windows Phone tools come with an express edition of Visual Studio specifically for Windows Phone.

Get building those XAP’s!