Microsoft Looking To Attract Android Developers, Releases Tool For Helping To Port Android Apps To WP7

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It looks like Microsoft, coming with some help from the “App Guy,” is looking to attract some developers from the Android camp. The help from Microsoft comes in the form of an updated API mapping tool and a 90 plus page white paper.

And from the way it was described, the App Guy is someone they hired because he was known in the developer forums community as the person who could offer help in terms of porting your Android or iOS app over to Windows Phone 7. Needless to say, between the mapping tool, the white paper and help from the App Guy when you are stuck, it sounds like things should be a bit easier than developers interested in porting had it in the past.

The white paper is called Windows Phone 7 Guide for Android Application Developers” and those previously mentioned 90 pages are divided up into 7 chapters. Speaking in terms of the Windows Phone API mapping tool, this is described as being able to help in the process of porting. And for those not as familiar with developer-speak, here is the simple explanation that the Windows Phone Developer Blog gives;

“Think of the API mapping tool as being like a translation dictionary. For example, let’s say that you’re planning a vacation to France. Since you don’t speak the language, you’ll bring a pocket travel dictionary. Having this tool will surely help you get an idea about what you are ordering from a restaurant menu, but you’ll have no idea what the actual recipe is — nor will you be able to have a conversion in French with the server!”

That being said, while we applaud the efforts on behalf of Microsoft, we are not entirely convinced this will bring a flood of new apps into the Marketplace. After all, the Android mapping tool comes a few weeks after the iOS mapping tool was created and honestly, we have yet to hear any real chatter in terms of iOS developers begin the porting process.