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this question could have been asked frequently but i really want to know the difference .I am totally confused .

I am planning to buy and use/implement Windows Azure for Push Notifications ,Toast Notifications and Live Tiles for my game . I want to know which one is better ? Azure Mobile Services or Notification Hub .

These two services sound the same , in the sense that they provide all the services related to push notifications . Though Azure Mobile services has some extra features like Data storage , user authentication etc ..

I also want to know whether i can use Notification Hub service via Azure Mobile services. Like if i had bought/paid for Windows Azure Mobile Services can i use/access Notifications Hub too.

The reason i want to use Windows Azure for my game :

  1. I want to send a toast notification to the user/device when another user/device sends a challenge or Request (like for eg: an option called "Challenge a friend").
  2. Push Notifications to the Live Tile regarding "leaderboards" and personal highscore .The Game Mode last played etc .
  3. Make these facilities available to All platforms .(Initally i am implementing on WP8 with Live tiles).

I am also aware of the Free Trial available but i am worried about the risk of being charged.

Baris Akar
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Ranga Praveen
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    possible duplicate of [Difference between azure notification hub and azure mobile services](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19424695/difference-between-azure-notification-hub-and-azure-mobile-services) – Gaurav Mantri Nov 07 '13 at 06:34
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    There is a free pricing tier for Notification Hubs, so you can get that without risking being charged. However, it has limits. Also, this question is largely a duplicate of the above link. – Alan McBee Jul 04 '14 at 19:23

1 Answers1

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Check the features/pricing of both on the official pages:

  • Azure Mobile Services

    Azure Mobile Services provides a scalable cloud backend for building Windows Store, Windows Phone, Apple iOS, Android, and HTML/JavaScript applications. Store data in the cloud, authenticate users, and send push notifications to your application within minutes.

  • Azure Notification Hubs

    Azure Notification Hubs provides a highly scalable, cross-platform push notification infrastructure that enables you to either broadcast push notifications to millions of users at once or tailor notifications to individual users. You can use Notification Hubs with any connected mobile application—whether it’s built on Azure Virtual Machines, Cloud Services, Web Sites, or Mobile Services.

Use Azure Mobile Services if you need a server backend for your app, where you store data and implement server side logic. Azure Notification Hubs is included, which you can use for push notifications.

Use only Azure Notification Hubs if you don't need server side data or logic or are already using another service for this and only need a service to send push notifications.

They have both FREE tiers which could fit your needs in the beginning.

Also, there is already a similar question here...

Community
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Baris Akar
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