Microsoft gives anybody the tool to create the Windows Phone app of their dreams

Got an idea for an awesome new smartphone application in the back of your mind, but don’t have the developer or design know how to make it happen? Well, you’ll love Microsoft’s new Windows Phone App Studio, launched today in beta stage, which lets anybody with absolutely no amount of coding experience turn their idea into an honest to goodness, working application in no time. The utility is incredibly simple to use featuring drag and drop user interface design, pre-existing templates just waiting to be manipulated, and even allows users to turn their own Windows Phone 8 smartphone into a developer device free of charge for testing purposes.

Unfortunately, while the tool is entirely free, that doesn’t get would-be developer out of paying Microsoft’s annual Dev Center registration fee if they want to get their application published on the Store. That’ll usually run you $99, though Microsoft has bumped that price down to just $19 until August 27th – which is a sweet savings in and of itself. Plus, developers can chose to charge money for their App Studio made app to potentially make up for the price of the Dev Center registration fee if the so choose.

Windows Phone 8 is an ecosystem starved for applications, missing out on most of the “killer” applications found on other platforms. Microsoft has been struggling to keep the platform afloat against increasing competition from Apple and Google, both of which dominate the smartphone market. However Microsoft and Windows Phone 8 has seen gains as of late due at the expense of BlackBerry sales, which have been sharply declining in recent years.