That’s a question I’ve heard quite a few times over the last couple of days. I figured I’d write up a quick post to let everyone know what happened and what’s going on.

First, Network Dashboard has been hidden from the Marketplace for the time being.  I submitted a version 1.2 update to the Marketplace for certification a few days ago. After doing so, I realized there was a fairly major bug in the configuration of some of the new features that it brought. I opened a support ticket with Microsoft, hoping to have them “reject” the submission so I could fix the bug and resubmit. Unfortunately, they don’t have the ability to stop a submission once it’s been put in, which meant that the version 1.2 (bug and all) made it through certification (which is interesting in and of itself … why didn’t the tester catch the bug? It causes a full application crash).

Rather than have a bunch of people with Network Dashboard breaking on them, I hid the application from the Marketplace. I’ve submitted version 2.0 for certification and am just waiting on it to complete testing. This will hopefully happen in the next day or two. I’ll post here once it’s available!

Microsoft just sent out an email to Zune Pass subscribers announcing plan changes that will go into effect October 3. They will be discontinuing the current $14.99 a month plan in favor of a $9.99 a month plan. The downside is that the $9.99 a month plan no longer includes the 10 song credits per month. The upside? Existing Zune Pass subscribers get to keep their current plan if they choose, so long as they remain a subscriber.

I’m just putting the finishing touches on a new version of Network Dashboard that fixes a couple of bugs and adds a couple of neat new features. I’m seriously considering a change, though, from a free app to a 99 cent app with a trial. Just to be clear, the trial will NOT be a timed trial … you can use the trial free of charge forever, no nag screens or anything. All the existing features of the free Network Dashboard app will be available for use in the trial version.

Switching to a paid app with a trial allows me to offer a few extra features and get paid for the work I’ve put into the app. Additionally, it means I can keep the app ad-free, which is something I’d like to do as I don’t feel ads fit in Network Dashboard.

So, I’m looking for some feedback on this decision before I release the next version. Anyone have any thoughts?

Yesterday at the Build Blogger Bash at Microsoft’s Build conference, Brandon Watson, Microsoft Senior Director of Windows Phone Development, mentioned Network Dashboard during a live recording of the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. I showed him Network Dashboard and he immediately downloaded it on his phone. On the podcast He said, “I love it!”

You’ll find the mention at about 36 minute mark in the video:

Thanks for the shoutout Brandon!

I’ll be live blogging the Build Day 1 Kenote address Tuesday from Anaheim, CA! Come back at 9AM Pacific on Tuesday, 9/13 for complete coverage.