It has been less than four months since we introduced the first public preview for Windows Azure Mobile Services and in this short time we have seen continual improvements to the service offering including:

• SDKs for Windows Store, Windows Phone 8 and iOS app
• Auth using Microsoft Account, Facebook, Google and Twitter
• Push Notification support via WNS, MPNS and APNS
• Structured storage
• Deployments in East and West US datacenters

What’s New
We are continuing this great momentum and I’m happy to announce another round of exciting updates to Windows Azure Mobile Services.

• Rapid Development: configure a straightforward and secure backend for Windows 8 and mobile applications in less than five minutes.
• Scheduler (a.k.a “CRON”): you can now run a server script on a pre-set schedule or on-demand. This enables new scenarios, including:
  • aggregating data from Twitter, RSS feeds, or any external web services
  • executing background code efficiently, such as process/resize images, performing complex calculations, or sending emails
  • schedule sending push notifications to customers to ensure they arrive at the right time of day
• Command-line support: you can now use the Windows Azure command line tools to create and manage your mobile services.
• Availability in the North Europe datacenter: you can now deploy your mobile services in Europe to enjoy reduced latency for your European customers.

Whether you are a developer building for the Windows Store, Windows Phone 8, iPhone, or iPad, these new features in Windows Azure Mobile Services provides an easy, streamlined process for backend elements like storing structured data, configuring user authentication via Windows Live, Facebook, Twitter, and Google, and incorporating push notifications.

Visit WindowsAzure.com to access Mobile Services either by logging into a current Windows Azure account or sign up for the free Mobile Services trial. You get 10 Mobile Services for free!

As always, stay tuned to my twitter feed for Windows 8, Windows Azure and other Microsoft announcements, updates, and links: @clinted