14-Year-Old Windows Phone ‘Hero of the Week’ Wins Unleashed Contest

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iheartphoneJohnny Simmons, 14 and lead developer of Simzz Dev of Salt Lake City, UT won the Windows Phone 7 Unleashed developers contest Friday in Bellevue, WA. Voting for the top spot was made by fellow participants in the day-long event, which helped developers get started writing applications. 

Each participant began their application the morning of the event that included speakers and introductory developer demos. For Johnny’s winning application, a user creates a signature block and is able to email or send it via SMS. He showed the application to the other participants, who also showed off their applications, including applications that would report the value of the homes given your current location, an accident reporting app, and a time tracker for handymen.

Johnny’s application which was demoed working on the Windows Phone at the event.

And then this week, coincidentally, he was named Windows Phone ‘Hero of the Week’.

For more information about the event, see 13 years, 20 Windows Phone Apps…

How Johnny Got Started

Johnny learned by watching videos and finding code samples, and in the above video tells SV Architect Evangelist Bruce Kyle about how he got started, and how he makes money through AdCenter.

imageJohnny’s apps include:

  • DrawPad
  • DrawPad Pro
  • NightClock
  • Analog Night Clock
  • Random Numbers and Dice
  • 7 Tab Browser Free
  • 7 Tab Browser Pro
  • Chasing Howie
  • NBA Schedule
  • System Info

He notes that he makes his best revenue from his ad-supported applications.

See the video of Johnny as he explains how he got started writing Phone apps at Teenager Makes Money Writing Windows Phone 7 Apps with AdCenter.

Getting Started on Windows Phone Development

Whether you’re a new or existing Windows Phone developer, now is the perfect time to take the next step and be what’s next in mobile. The checklist is simple:

Bruce D. KyleISV Architect Evangelist | Microsoft Corporation

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