Do I need to sign up for a contract to get a Dev phone?

[TheOnlyInvictus]

TOTAL n00b question guys:
I'm planning on getting the Lumia 900 from Rogers [Canada], but I hate that company and don't want to sign up. My worry is that I won't be able to properly use this device as a test bed - ESPECIALLY, when testing for incoming/outgoing calls.

Is there a way for me to just buy the device without committing 3 years of my life to this devil company, and still have a proper test bed?

Thanks a lot

 

[rbrunner]

Get prepaid

Well, this has nothing to do with WP7 development per se.

Just get the phone to work for phone calls in the cheapest way possible. If Rogers offers a prepaid option, without monthly payments and long contract duration, take that one.

Be careful however about data traffic: If Rogers is like the carriers here in Switzerland prepaid does not include any free data traffic, and data traffic without any "options" booked is very expensive. The solution for me was to buy some "data traffic package", e.g. 100 MB, to be used within 30 days, for a few dollars.

 

[TheOnlyInvictus]

Sorry if I posted in the wrong section - but given that I'm buying the phone for the sake of Development, and the price difference between outright purchase of the device and signing a 3 year contract is pretty large, I need to find the answer.
Unfortunately, Rogers doesn't offer any WP7 devices on a pre-paid plans, so that's out.

Has anyone purchased a device outright, and successfully used it for development? As mentioned, I'm worried about incoming/outgoing calls while my application is running.

Any tips are appreciated.

 

[rbrunner]

Confused

Now you got me confused.

That by all means should be an easy two-step process:

1) Buy any new or second-hand WP7 phone that is not SIM-locked to a particular carrier and of course does not come with any contract.

2) Buy a Rogers Prepaid SIM, slot it into the WP7 phone, and there you go.

I did exactly that: I bought my HTC Radar from a normal electronics shop here in Switzerland, and then used a Swisscom Prepaid SIM of mine that was gathering dust. Works perfectly for WP7 development - why it shouldn't? Just be careful about costs of data traffic, as I already mentioned.

I repeat that this has nothing to do with WP7 in particular. It sure isn't so exotic in Canada to buy a phone full-price or get a used one on eBay without SIM lock and then equip it with a prepaid SIM?

 

[TheOnlyInvictus]

It sure isn't so exotic in Canada to buy a phone full-price or get a used one on eBay without SIM lock and then equip it with a prepaid SIM?

Hahaha, my friend... You're in Europe, and I'm originally not from North America. Unlocked phones are the norm for us. But not here. Trust me, things aren't so black and white here.
I'm sure I'll end up following your advice, but I will have to get the phone unlocked myself (something I was trying to avoid), or buying the phone online (Amazon or such). Only, Amazon.ca probably doesn't carry unlocked phones either... anyway, I'lll do some more investigation. Thx for the tips.

 

[wildbohr]

Hahaha, my friend... You're in Europe, and I'm originally not from North America. Unlocked phones are the norm for us. But not here. Trust me, things aren't so black and white here.
I'm sure I'll end up following your advice, but I will have to get the phone unlocked myself (something I was trying to avoid), or buying the phone online (Amazon or such). Only, Amazon.ca probably doesn't carry unlocked phones either... anyway, I'lll do some more investigation. Thx for the tips.

I'm currently a Rogers customer, but I have been buying my phones out right. Currently I'm running a Samsung Focus, waiting on my Lumia 900. I will be making the jump to another cell provider after I have my Lumia. If you buy the phone out right it's yours to do with as you wish. You can use the phone for development with no cell plan if you want. Your paid AppHub account will allow you to dev unlock the phone for testing.

 

[wildbohr]

Oh one more thing, if you do pick up a prepaid sim, keep in mind they are full size cards, not the micro-sim's the lumia uses, so you would need to cut the card to size for it to fit in the slot.