First Look to Telerik RadControls for Win8 Metro

During TechEd 2012, Telerik announced their first commercial library for building Windows 8 Metro applications. This control library is a set of controls for XAML and HTML apps. User can chose the language of their own choice and deliver a high end Windows 8 enterprise and consumer applications using these controls.

In this blog post, I will describe more about the controls and guide you to kick start with your Metro application development using the Telerik RadControls. The controls set is neither yet released nor available publicly to download. In case you want a special early adopter access, this blog post will help you to get one too.

Introduction to Telerik RadControls for Metro

Telerik, an end-to-end provider of software application lifecycle and content management solutions announced their first commercial library for Windows 8 Metro applications during TechEd 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

RadControls for Metro is the 1st commercial library from Telerik for building Windows 8 enterprise and consumer applications that will run on tablets and large screens using your language of choice. The consumer application will focus developers seeking to build must-have functionalities and monetization will welcome the toolset's touch-centric UI, rich data browsing, and deep integration with other applications available in the marketplace, while supporting user requirements for sharing data on various social networking sites.

Telerik already has many control libraries for HTML5, ASP.Net, WinForm, WPF, Silverlight, Windows Phone etc. Now this will be another new Technology to the entire group of set named “Ultimate Collection”.

Technology Focus

In Windows 8 SDK, Telerik's new tools are targeted for HTML and XAML developers who are building either enterprise or consumer applications for tablets or large screens. You can develop metro applications for Windows 8 either using HTML or XAML.

Telerik's RadControls for Metro toolset complements core features of the platform that will enable developers to rapidly create rich data visualization and slick interactivity.

The suite includes two mirror libraries with the same user experience, functionality and behavior. No matter if you are an HTML or XAML developers, you will be able to build exactly the same app using RadControls for Metro.

Here are few controls set that are part of the HTML and XAML libraries. HTML library has greater set of libraries than the XAML as this is not yet finalized set of library for metro application development. When it will come to public adoption and Telerik releases the first beta, I hope that there will be a huge set of mirrored controls in both the libraries.

Telerik already showcased a demo application in TechEd 2012 for Windows 8 Metro using their all new Telerik RadControls for metro. They showcased the use of Chart, Gauge, Slider and other controls in that sample application. I really loved those controls and you can check out a preview here:

Need a Free License?

If you are a developer and want to dirty your hands with Telerik RadControls for Windows 8 Metro, the bad news is: the control library is not yet available for public download but the good news is: Telerik is giving away a Free Early Adopter Access Code by which you will get access to the Windows 8 Metro library.

To get your early adopter access to Telerik RadControls for Windows 8 Metro development, send a mail to win8apps@telerik.com to get the license code. Telerik will send you a personal invitation to the product’s early preview. Once you get the access code from Telerik, do the following steps:

1. Go to http://www.telerik.com/products/windows-metro.aspx
2. Click on the orange button, log in to your account and then enter the code provided
3. To download RadControls for Metro EAP (early adopters preview) Beta go to your Trial Download List available in Your Account: http://www.telerik.com/account/your-products/trial-download-list.aspx

That’s all and you will get both the libraries for XAML & HTML. You will also get the access to the demo application that has been showcased in TechEd 2012.

Stay tuned to my blog to get article updates on the Telerik RadControls for Windows 8 Metro in coming days. Also connect with me on Twitter, Facebook to get regular updates. Subscribe to my blog’s RSS Feed and Email Newsletter for immediate update.