AppMakr App Approved - Few items to note

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Recently I posted on using AppMakr for building WP7 apps off RSS feeds ( link : https://blogs.msdn.com/b/devfish/archive/2011/04/21/appmakr-walkthrough-non-coders-can-build-windows-phone-7-apps.aspx ). I show how to build a vanityor tribute app for someone using RSS feeds.  My app was a @bytemaster fan app.  I submitted my "bytemaster fan application" to the Windows Phone marketplace and it was approved in 3 days.  Wow.

Zune deep link here- https://social.zune.net/redirect?type=phoneApp&id=ff571b2d-856b-e011-81d2-78e7d1fa76f8
AppHab link here - https://wp7.apphab.com/bytemaster-tribute-app-by-devfish

Few burps in the process though, I thought I'd share.

Games Hub - Not an appmakr issue. I was tired and neglected to change the default category from games. So this RSS parser installed into "games". Yuk. I've resubmitted to get a category change to "Social" with no subcategory. But if you do download this app it will show up in "games" for now.  I expect the update to move it out of games.  Its also interesting that testing did not catch it as "not a game".

Ads No Worky - I enabled ads on this app as an experiment. The 'test ad' interface wasn't showing up in the SIMULATOR. Once published the ads did not show up in the published app. I contacted our AppMakr liason - we'll call him Max - and he submitted a bug on this. Happy to say that ads showed up in the simulator, and now I'm expecting them to show up in the resubmitted application.

Simulator uses Fruit Phone Base on Gallery Page - App Gallery offers an "landing page" for your app. Unfortunately it tries to run the WP7 app in the iPhone simulator. Good potential, doesn't work. But not a show-stopper. You can see the bytemaster app gallery page here - https://www.appmakr.com/app_gallery/156932 .  I've reported this to "Max" and he's got a bug on it, I think.  Until then its probably best that you use an alternative wp7 marketplace link for showcasing your appmakr made app.

With Ads working, I think AppMakr is viable for crunch-n-munch type RSS applications. Experiment with it. Certain application styles will work well with appmakr. If you build some appmakr apps post me a comment and let me know. Youtube video of the process coming soon.