Telerik Platform Webinar Recap and Prize Winners

Over a thousand of you took time out of your busy schedules to meet up with us and attend the latest Telerik Platform webinar: "More speed. More devices. Less time." We hope you enjoyed the event. We went into detail about our upcoming Device Cloud offering for mobile testing and how to accelerate your PhoneGap/Cordova development with AppBuilder and the Plugins Marketplace, and showed off the depth and power of our Backend Services offerings. But you know the webinar was just the beginning, it's up to you to take that next step.

ICYMI

In case you missed the webinar, we have a recording for you available on the YouTube:

Run a Hybrid App - Get an Amazon Gift Card!

Many of you were interested in learning more about our promotion to, quite literally, run a hybrid app and get a $5 Amazon gift card. You can learn more by following this link - it's too easy!

Questions (and Answers)

We had A LOT of engaged users asking A LOT of fantastic questions during the webinar. After pouring over them, we have a relatively short list of just some of the questions to share:

Getting Started

Amazing tools. How might I, who has never used any Telerik tools, learn how to use them? Siply start your Telerik Platform trial today. As soon as you join, we provide you the opportunity to experience our tools with a variety of "quick start" tutorials.

NativeScript

What is the performance of the app generated by NativeScript vs. real native apps? The performance is almost the same as a real native app. Actually, it is impossible to figure out that an app is built with NativeScript. You can go to the Apple App Store and search for NativeScript. This is our companion app that is built with NativeScript and hosts a simple app that you can try out.

How do I apply for the beta for NativeScript? www.telerik.com/nativescript

Mobile Testing/Device Cloud

When will device cloud be available? December 16. Start writing those tests now!

Are the "cloud devices" for testing using virtual machines, or are they scripted against physical devices? Physical devices.

How does the platform work with a GIT repository and automatic testing? Telerik Platform solution plays very well when comes to Git repositories. There is even out-of-the-box support for connecting your projects with some git providers. As for automatic testing, you can check out Telerik Mobile Testing.

Backend Services

Regarding responsive images: What is the expected data saved? The idea is that you can get your image re-sized to any resolution you need. It is re-sized on our servers and then returned to you. We do support CDN as well. We have a JavaScript client library that automatically requests the right size of image for the device. It can be used both on websites and hybrid mobile apps.

AppBuilder

What about the native features? Does AppBuilder have common code or we will have to code for every platform? When you develop a hybrid app with AppBuilder you are writing one code base for all three major mobile platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8). We are using the Cordova framework, which uses plugins written in the mobile platform native frameworks to deliver cross-platform features.

The landscape for displays is changing. Phone screens are getting larger. Tablet screens are getting smaller. Soon screen shapes will be changing. What is Telerik doing to prepare for screen shape changes and allow developers to take advantage of these changes as they emerge? Wearables are a big part of our strategy for 2015-rest assured we are preparing for the latest in wearables and IoT across all of our supported platforms.

Verified Plugins Marketplace

Are the plugins provided by Telerik checked that they don't contain malware or other fraud? The plugins offered on plugins.telerik.com are indeed verified to be free of malicious behavior, and we strive to fix any bugs encountered in them.

Will there be a easy way/plugin to monetize your app? Absolutely. Try out the Verified Plugins Marketplace and the AdMob plugin.

General

What are you using to mirror your iPhone on screen? It is the Reflector app. More info here: developer.telerik.com/featured/mirroring-options-mobile-developers

We've used AppForge in the past, and when that company went bankrupt, we were left with apps that we could no longer deploy because we no longer could get device licenses. If Telerik went under (of course, you won't) would we have this same issue? No! When you use the Telerik Platform solution, there is no vendor lock-in whatsoever. Even if your subscription runs out, you'll still have access to your projects.

Is Telerik moving away from .Net development and support? No. .NET is here to stay. We are just expanding to new horizons.

Prizes! Glorious Prizes!

Saving the best for last, I'm sure you all want to know who won the amazing prizes. Simply for attending our webinar, we gave away these prizes to the following lucky individuals:

• MacBook Air: John Pluchino
• Surface Pro 3: Richard Lester
• Google Nexus 9: Thomas Mesich
• iPad Air - Rob Karatzas
• iPhone 6 Plus: Clyde Forrest
• GoPro (for the best question): Morgan Bleck
• 20 Telerik Platform Professional Licenses: Too many to list here

Remember, in case you didn't win, you can always attend the next webinar for your chance.

Thank You!

As we enter the holiday season, we here at Telerik want to extend a sincere thanks to all of you who make this possible. We do our best to do right by you, our loyal customer, every day of the year. Best wishes and have a fantastic new year!

About the Author
Rob Lauer is a Product Manager for Telerik and has a passion for hybrid mobile app development and the open web. In his other life he raises two kids, plays Ultimate Frisbee, and (for better or worse) is an avid Wisconsin Badger fan. Rob is @rdlauer on Twitter.