Interview with Reinstaller developer, Ashish Sahu

The Reinstaller app for Nokia Lumia is a great way to reinstall apps from one Windows Phone to another – perfect if you’ve just purchased the new Nokia Lumia 920 or Nokia Lumia 820. We spent some time with the developer, Ashish Sahu, to find out more about the app.
For anybody that’s used Reinstaller, you’ll realise that it’s a genius idea that makes moving to a new Windows Phone a doddle. How did Ashish come up with the idea?

He explains:

“I came up with the idea because my Windows Phone at the time (last year) stopped working. After I got it working again, my phone was fully reset, but clear of all my apps and data. I thought there must be a way to get it back without going through the process of searching the Windows Phone Store. After a little research I found that scraping the Windows Phone Store was possible, so I created an app that did exactly that.”

Mostly, Ashish has worked on this app alone, receiving support from colleagues to make sure he was heading in the right direction.

Written in C#, he tells us that anybody else who wants to create an app can do it. All you need is a good idea and the passion to make something.

However, there were some problems.

“Scrapping the app information from the windowsphone.com website wasn’t easy but the most difficult part to come up with was the flow of the app. I went to the whiteboard to think and decide the best experience I can provide to the users with the existing limitations.”

While Reinstaller is great for searching the Windows Phone Store for you, it does have some limitations. You still need to install the apps or games manually.

“The APIs that are currently available don’t permit that kind of automation. However, using the Web install links can perhaps make it easier than it is currently. I am planning to look at it soon.”

Naturally, this kind of app is only useful if you’re upgrading from one Windows Phone to another. But how does this kind of app help people make the transition to the latest version of Windows Phone 8, such as the the flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphones, Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820?

“Windows Phone 8 has its own backup and restore functionality, but that only works going forwards – Windows Phone 8 and above. Reinstaller will be useful if you are upgrading from Windows Phone 7.5 device to Windows Phone 8 to get all your apps up and running.”

What’s next for Reinstaller, are there any updates coming?

“I plan to implement some new functionalities in the Reinstaller app based on the user feedback. I will also update some of my existing apps to Windows Phone 8 to take advantage of the new functionalities and capabilities of Windows Phone 8 – the Toggle app comes in mind before anything else.”

And what about after Reinstaller?

“Yes, I’ve got some app ideas for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. More so because most of the code can be used without much modification and also to cater to a much bigger user base that I’m sure the new Microsoft ecosystem will gather in the coming months.”

Reinstaller app for Windows Phone can be found from the Windows Phone Store, for free – download it today.