Microsoft has stated that taking screenshots are not important for the end-user. Yes, I understand that you can take screenshots through the emulator with the SDK, but there are many times that I take screenshots (when doing a review of software, etc.) while using the device. I’d like to see either Microsoft enable the functionality or a third party create something that will do it.
According to Woodman, it’s also not always the users who help Microsoft determine which features need to be fast-tracked. “We do a lot of things for reporters,” Woodman said. “I would argue things like the Mac connector software–the software that lets you take your Windows Phone and connect it to an Apple PC of some form, and basically pull over music from iTunes and photos and that kind of stuff–it wasn’t built because we thought there was a significant market opportunity for Mac loyalists out there who were dying to buy a Windows Phone. It was built because reporters would show up with Macs,” Woodman said.
The other half of the equation, Woodman explained, is that developers who wanted to take screenshots of their applications have had the means since the introduction of the Windows Phone 7 SDK. “There’s a ton of ways to do it in within the emulator, so application developers have no problem with that,” Woodman said.