Windows Phone Thoughts: Get to know your development tools options

Bottom line: the success of this community and Microsoft's initiatives in the mobile devices market depends on the quality and availability of best-in-class development tools.

If you need a run down of "the current and future landscape of Microsoft mobile application development tools" I recommend visiting this new technical white paper called Development Tools for Mobile and Embedded Applications. The purpose of the white paper is to help developers decide which offerings are most suitable for their needs. You'll get a better understanding in how to relate to eMbedded Visual Tools, Smart Device Extensions, and .NET Compact Framework for Visual Studio .NET, Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit, and Windows CE. NET after having read the paper. (I am happy to see that they list our book "Pocket PC Development in the Enterprise" under "Publications for more information on eMbedded Visual Basic"!) The white paper has a clear and concise "Tools Comparison Chart" which summarizes all the essentials.

While on the subject, I can also recommend reading Derek Mitchell's (deVBuzz.com) article called "Understanding the .NET Compact Framework for the Pocket PC".