Mobile application development  is gaining huge popularity among mobile application developers, particularly for Windows Phone. And Microsoft .NET provides a powerful programming model and an extensive set of APIs spanning all Microsoft platforms.

According to recent research by analyst firm Canalys, Windows Mobile market share is expected to reach to 12.7 percent in 2017 from 2.4 percent in 2012. The price of smart phones has fallen dramatically over the last few years and this has helped increase penetration.

Seeing popularity of this paradigm, Telerik, provider of software application lifecycle, agile project management, software testing and content management solutions, announced the latest evolution of Telerik DevCraft, the ultimate end-to-end toolset for professional .NET developers.

Telerik controls are invaluable for NET and Silverlight developers because they provide a vast array of rich controls targeted for the presentation layer of web applications. Telerik offers you solutions for the reports, grids, charts, and text-editing controls that you need but don’t want to build from scratch yourself. The DevCraft release further sets the standard with advancements in touch-friendly controls, data synchronization and cloud mobile back-end services.

Custom .NET development leverages these to create solutions to fit any business need and Telerik’s XAML and HTML toolsets is adding .NET and HTML5 developers to deliver modern, clean mobile applications, including Calendar, Image and Tile controls.

“As mobile overtakes traditional PC computing, developers are focusing their efforts on this highly competitive market. They don’t have the luxury of unlimited time or endless resources to get their apps up and running, so they’re turning to Telerik for help. We have always been the first stop for .NET developers because we provide up-to-date tools, ahead of the competition, all backed by the most comprehensive support available. With the Q2 2013 release, we’re continuing our tradition of cutting edge innovation by bringing together the core elements necessary for mobile success – touch, cloud-enablement and more, to streamline the development process and provide value-add to our customers,” said Chris Sells, Vice President, DevTools division, Telerik.

Windows 8 styled Modern UI Live Tiles supported as well as many more design tools

Some of the new features in the DevCraft portfolio of tools and solutions include data visualizations for Windows 8, grid components, updated frameworks and data engines and improved UI controls, RadPivotGrid with OLAP support, seamless integration between ASP .NET AJAX and SharePoint 2013, improved data management controls, charting and visualization controls, and unique HTML5 features for ASP .NET and front-end for MVC apps.

Telerik is also adding some new features and tools with the Q2 release. Here are the latest inclusions:

• WPF/Silverlight sample app is updated to show developers how to add advanced support for touch into their apps.
• Improves support for IE10 for the creation of touch-enabled controls.
• Data Synchronization is now possible in both online and offline mode thanks to Cloud Data Sync feature.
• Cloud mobile back-end services simplify development of data and file storage, user management, cloud code execution and email notifications.
• Brand new sample libraries – QFS alongside dev kits to provide well designed frameworks for business applications.
• Windows phone development added a number of application templates for Windows Phone 7 and 8
• JustCode is enhanced with integration with JustDecompile for the ability to debug into decompiled code
• 10 new controls and more than 250 new features across all six UI control suites including AJAX, Calendar, Data Storage and more for Windows 8.
• Addition of Graph interactivity support to create more interactive reports.

Telerik is not concentrating only on the development of Windows 8 mobile platform. The company also runs Icenium, cross-platform mobile app development to build mobile apps, mobile websites and hybrid apps for any platform and any device without having to use specific proprietary SDKs or software packages.

The software application lifecycle company recently announced the availability of new tools for PHP and JSP developers, a release of Kendo UI, the availability of Web Content Management (WCM) lightweight web system Sitefinity and Version 2.0 of its Test Studio for iOS that combines mobile test automation and end-user feedback into a single product.