The best mobile applications don’t live in a vacuum. They are augmented by dedicated servers, the Internet and Cloud services. While it’s one thing to reach out to server-side services from a mobile application, it’s a completely different affair when the tables are turned and the server needs to reach the phone. Enter push notifications. From iOS to Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8, discover how to send push notifications from cloud-hosted services to a mobile app running on a tablet or phone, and learn how to handle those alerts in your mobile app. We’ll discuss the various push notification services from Microsoft, Apple and Google, how to leverage them in your mobile applications, how to deal with push scenarios for any given multi-platform app, and we’ll also look at Notification Hubs that can let you push millions of notifications with just a few lines of code. The live demo showcases a real-world app designed for Windows Phone, Windows, iOS and Android with a common cloud backend built with Node.js. Contact me if you would like me to present this session at your event.

1. www.AgeofMobility.com

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 http://www.bigbaldapps.com
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 www.AgeofMobility.com
 @ActiveNick
2005-20142013-2014

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4. Hosting Your Stuff in the Cloud
Microsoft
Azure

5. Demo: Whirlwind Tour of

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7. Node.js
Express
.NET
Web API
SQL Table
Storage
Blob
Storage
WNS &
MPNS
APNS GCM
Mongo
DB
Notification
Hubs
Source
Control
Facebook Twitter Microsoft Google Azure Active
Directory
Windows Store
iOS
Android
Xamarin
Phonegap
Sencha
Windows Phone
iOS
Android
HTML 5/JS
SDKs
RESTAPI
Hybrid
Connections

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Data
Azure SQL
db
Azure Table
Storage
Azure Blob
Storage
Mongo DB
SQL Server
in a VM
SQL Server
On-Prem

9. Action HTTP Verb URL Suffix
Create POST /TodoItem
Read GET /TodoItem?$filter=id%3D42
Update PATCH /TodoItem/id
Delete DELETE /TodoItem/id
Data Operations and their REST Equivalents
Base REST API Endpoint URL
https://Mobileservice.azure-mobile.net/tables/*
Odata protocol
LINQ support for
the C# SDK
A Basic table

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13. Server-initiated
communication
Richer than SMS,
10,000s times cheaper
Multitasking: Enable
key background tasks
Prevent polling for user
updates
Preserve device
battery life
Advanced Scenarios:
e.g “Push to Sync”
App
Differentiation
User
Relationship

14. Windows 8.x/WP8.1: Windows Push Notification Service (WNS)
Windows Phone 8: Microsoft Push Notification Service (MPNS)
iOS (Apple): Apple Push Notification Service (APNS)
Android (Google): Google Cloud Messaging (GCM)

15. Registration at app launch
1.
2.
Sending Notification
1.
2.
Maintenance
1.
Platform
Notification
Service
App back-end

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17. One-time set up
1.
Register
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2.
Send Notification
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2.
APNsWNS
Notification Hub
App back-end
iOS app Windows app
MPNS
GCM
ADM

18. Demo:

19. await
[hub registerNativeWithDeviceToken:deviceToken
tags:nil
completion:^(NSError* error) { … }];
hub.register(regid);
var toast = @“<notification payload>";
hub.SendWindowsNativeNotificationAsync(toast);
hubService.wns.sendToastText01(null,
{
text1: 'Hello from Node!'
},
function (error)
{
…
}
);

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22. Reservation changes, Deals,
Back-office
Travel/Hospitality/Airlines
SMS replacement, Deals,
Back-office
Banking/Insurance
Orders, Product UX,
Back-office
Discrete manufacturing/Auto
Prescriptions, Appointments,
LOB (maintenance)
Healthcare
Breaking news
News/Media
Offers, Orders, Back-office
Retail

23. 10s
3+ <2
100s
3+ 150+

24. • Notification Hubs service page
• Get started
(Windows/Phone, iOS, Android, Kindle)
• MSDN documentation
• APIs references and download
• REST surface documentation
• Debugging guide
• Pricing
• Cloud Cover 116 – X-plat notifications
• Cloud Cover 118 – Geo-location
• Azure Friday – Broadcasting
• Azure Friday – Tags
• Azure Friday – Templates
• Azure Friday – User-specific notifications

25.  http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/2-616
 http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/2-521
 http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/3-623
 http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/3-622
 http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/2-518

26. 
 http://aka.ms/wp81js
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 http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014
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 www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/product-training/windows-phone
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 http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/wpapps/Windows-Phone-81-samples-08631ca7

27. 
http://aka.ms/wpdevsetup
 http://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps
 www.AgeofMobility.com
 www.dvlup.com
 http://appstudio.windows.com
 http://flip.it/95YFG

28. Thank You!
Slides will be posted on my Slideshare account. Demos are on GitHub.
Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/ActiveNick
Blog: www.AgeofMobility.com
Twitter: @ActiveNick
Mobile Apps: www.bigbaldapps.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/activenick
GitHub: github.com/ActiveNick
Email: nick.landry@microsoft.com