To view the full article in its entirety, please visit eWeek: Microsoft Ships Expression Blend 4 Service Pack 1

Microsoft has delivered a new service pack for its Expression Blend 4 development and design technology.

The new Expression Blend 4 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is fully compatible with Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight 3 and 4, and .NET Framework 3.5 and 4, according to a post by the Microsoft Expression Blend team.

“Expression Blend 4 SP1 includes support for building Windows Phone 7 apps and improved integration with Adobe design tools through support for FXG file format, as well as bug fixes and stability enhancements,” according to the D’Technology Weblog.

Expression Blend 4 is a Microsoft development environment that enables developers to create rich Web experiences, games, desktop apps and more; to design apps that use the full power of Silverlight; and to work effectively with design tools, Expression Blend and Visual Studio, Microsoft said.

“When you install Windows Phone Development Tools, you can use design tools in Blend to create WP apps, including WinP project and item templates, graphics and animation tools, behaviors and sample data,” according to the D’Technology Weblog. “Once you've created WP app, you can build it and then preview it either in WP emulator or in a WP device attached to your computer.”