February 2011 Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit Released (and a tasty NuGet it is)

It's always fun when a foundational toolkit, like the Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit, gets an update. In this release we get a new Tilt effect and new PerformanceProgressBar and new samples.

Jeff Wilcox does a great job showing off the updates in his Introducing the February 2011 Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit post.

"Today we pushed the button on the February 2011 release of the Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit. We’ve added a few new controls that previously app developers had to pick up separately while working on polishing their apps, including the tilt effect and performance progress bar. VB samples, too!
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What’s new?
Tilt effect

We have integrated the TiltEffect attached property, allowing developers to really easily turn on the “tilt effect” in this apps, automatically giving buttons, hyperlinks and check boxes the desired tilt effect that is found in many parts of the Windows Phone experience.
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PerformanceProgressBar

There have been several PerformanceProgressBar iterations, and finally there is one available built-in to the Silverlight for Windows Phone Toolkit.

This version is very easy to use, you can just drop it on a page, without needing to specify styles like earlier workarounds. Also, it smoothly animates out in an improved way, improving the visual attractiveness of apps.
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VB.NET Samples

Now that Visual Basic support is available for Windows Phone, we are pleased to now offer the same sample project we ship with the toolkit, now in VB.NET.

To use VB.NET with Windows Phone apps, you also need this easy download.
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VB Samples? Yes! VB! Good to see some VB love'n.

What's one of the easiest ways to add the new toolkit to your projects? NuGet it of course!

And finally you know you get the entire source for the library too, right? Yep, you get every curly bracket that goes into it...

Here’s a few more links you might find interesting:

• App Hub (Windows Phone 7 & XBox 360 development hub)
• Windows Phone 7 Development Tools and Resources, from MSDN Magazine
• Windows Phone 7 Developer Tools, from MSDev
• Windows Phone Training Kit – Update
• What's better than 20 "Silverlight for Windows Phone 7 toolkit" In Depth articles? 21!
• Coding4Fun Windows Phone Toolkit
• Some Useful WP7 Content for your Toolbag
• Master List of Windows Phone Developer Tips
• Must Have Windows Phone 7 Toolkits