Windows Phone 7 developer phone unlock detailed

Windows Phone 7 developer phone unlock

Today at the TechEd North America 2010 event Microsoft has confirmed Windows Phone 7 developers will be able to register a number of devices which unlocks the capability to side-load applications on to devices directly from development tools such Visual Studio or Expression Blend.

Initially, Microsoft will offer three device registrations per Marketplace account ($99 per year) tied a Windows Live ID. Developers who legitimately require more will be considered by Microsoft on a case-by-case basis.

The registration process which occurs on a PC with the phone connected involves a small application which asks for the Windows Live account the developer wishes to register the device on. The process simply flags that device in the cloud backend and does not change the phone ROM in any way.

Windows Phone 7 developer phone unlock

Once completed, developers can view through the Marketplace website which contains a listing of all their registered devices as well as removing the device registration.

54 insightful thoughts

  1. Do I understand it right that even if I just want to develop my very own application only for my private use I have to pay 99 USD in order to be able to upload that app to my phone?

    1. Its bad. Microsoft should allow developers to upload their own private apps for free. They can charge when it comes to public apps.

    2. No better than Apple. In fact, it’s better than Apple: we don’t have to do all the signature CRAP.

    3. It’s worse than Apple. You don’t have to register to create private apps with Xcode. You only have to register if you want to publish public apps.

      1. You cannot dowload the iPhone SDK without first paying for registration fee. That’s right you have to pay to experiment with the iPhone SDK.

        At least with WP7, you can download the development tools and SDK at now cost, and use the emulator to experiment an learn the platform before making an investment. This allows you to learn the platform and build a real application before deciding to sign up.

        With Apple you have first “PAY” before you can even start to learn the platform. In addition, Andriod is also a “PAY” to join service, plus with Andriod you have to search the net for development tools. All Google gives you is the SDK and nothing else. You have to find the right version of Ecillspe, and UI generator, and an other tool you may need. I spent a week just getting the right version of the tools, let alone doing any actual real work.

        Plus, the SDK and tools suck. They are some of the worst IDE and RAD tools I have evey seen and had the misfortune to work with, and I have seen a lot of bad tools in my 22 years in the development industry.

      2. @DrWho You can download the iPhone SDK without paying, in fact. I did this. You don’t have to pay $99 to download the SDK for iPhone. Still, in any case I’d rather pay Google Android’s $25 fee for public purchase than Windows Phone 7 or iOS’s fee. If you have a good app, then it’s probably worth it in the long run, no matter what device you develop for.

    4. You do need to register to put apps on your own phone. Google it or whatever. It’s free to make private AND public apps with Visual Studio, but just not for your phone. It would be nice if Microsoft opened this up a little later, and allowed third-party repositories… Come on Microsoft, don’t pull an Apple, there are other ways to make money…

    5. If it was free then everybody could put any app they want onto their phone, there needs to be a developer charge otherwise there would be no point to the marketplace.

      1. What a dump message I just read here. Sorry nothing personal but There are plenty of way to let developers put their own apps on their own phone for free without making any trouble to the MarketPlace as this is YOU and YOUR phone so don’t tell me there’s no way to know that and don’t allow the app to go to the MarketPlace.

        It’s just the way Microsoft coded the whole thing for which the process is to put the app on the MarketPlace for the Phone to get the app and not an App deployed like that on the phone.

        Well, what I hate most is that all this information came to me right when I tried to deploy my app. You know why, because never in the world, we told us that it would be that way until then. All the way on Silverlight.net I was reading oh my, developing for the Phone is so easy, here are some tutorials and here are some code, go ahead and code for the phone it’s so fun.

        Yeah right, I was so happy when I finished my first app and tried to deploy it on the phone, BANK a wall, like THE WALL (Pink Floyd)…

  2. Like me, many other programers dislike the free app submission policy, I believe it will highly condicionate the diversity and richness of apps on the Marketplace, aswell as it will make it sparse and poorer when compared to other app stores…
    These stores drive users to interact with the device and the platform, creating an empathy with it that fuels app sales and submissions.
    Lets all hope that Microsoft will have a second thought to this, unless they want to face another Markplace failure…

  3. Microsoft is trying to follow the same steps as taken by Apple. it worked for them coz they were first. It might not work in favour or M$. The popularity of Windows was due to the fact that many more had it or had access to it, now by limiting it, they shall close that window but perhaps have more developers jump in… who knows.

    Bill gates, you were great at the helm, Steve B is one a disaster after another, it is a miracle the company is still in existence.

  4. Well, I kinda like the unlimited paid apps and five free apps for $99 approach by Microsoft. If a developer can release more than 5 free apps in a year, the quality of the apps can be questioned. I’m sure there will be exceptions but I think from a greater point of view it serves everyone well. Microsoft may remove the restriction later but for now it’ll do well pruning fart and crap apps from the store.

  5. To thedude’s point, yeah that is annoying. Though I wonder how that works. If it doesn’t change the phone how does vs know whether to deploy? Or the phone know whether to accept? It seems ridiculous for the IDE to phone home every time you connect a device. But even if it does, that seems like a good place for the hackers to start working on jailbreaking.

    1. I think there will be no need for jailbreak , because microsoft announced that they will ship to third party manufacturers ( samsung , LG , HTC , etc .. ) and i doubt that Samsung or LG will lock their devices only for one carier.

  6. But when do we get our devices? That’s what I’m looking forward to. πŸ™‚

    And what does “side-load” mean? Just pushing an application onto your phone without going through an official app store?

    1. Side-load means you can plug your device into your computer, click the build button in VS, and the app will be loaded onto your phone and run from there.

  7. If I may express my opininion, seems that by limiting the pubblication of apps with $99 p.a. isn’t enough to avoid fart and burp applications, cose they’re already on marketplace, as well as Fascism epoc commemoration apps. In italy marketplace is already ruined and it will last 99$ or not.

  8. Hi Luigi, I agree with you. Also I would like to add that many small devs that only have one or two free great apps will not be paying the 99$ to submit their apps to marketplace. And like this many free quality apps will be lost. One example is Metro, Kevtris, Total Commander, I could start here a list of great free apps that would put the actual number of apps on MS Marketplace to shame…

  9. Of course the hardware to test your apps on, will probably ble provided for free to all developers so as to really get the speed up as to increase available apps on the wp7 platform…. πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  10. I’m already annoyed that I have to spend days searching on the Internet, modifying Xcode and running scripts etc. to be able to create private apps for my own iPod. Now Microsoft is doing the same thing? πŸ™

    Pretty please with cherry on top, start charging only when you submit apps to the Marketplace πŸ™

  11. Sniper! Microsoft phone just barely emerged and being shot dead. There is a reason Apple comany trailing behind, now M$ doesn’t want to lead the trail? Android rises …

  12. The only reason I own a windows phone is so I can develop applications for my own purposes at no cost. Remove this and the 30 Microsoft developers that I work along side will drop their fight against IPhones being introduced into the business. Most of us here have 2 phones as they are used for personal and development purposes. So there is a loss of about 60 windows phone sales.

    Also, IPhone now introducing multi-tasking but windows 7 mobile is dropping multi-task support. Microsoft have failed in my opinion. Maybe its because Apple is to big for them to buy out and take the technology.

  13. I agree that MS is again way to eager to just copy Apple. It is indeed the most ridicilous idea to believe that you can convince large amount of developers to buy into this phone, if they cannot develop a few apps for their private use first and get a feel for the whole thing.

  14. I’ve been writing apps for Pocket PC and Windows Mobile since 2001. My client distributes the apps to their clients for free, they use the phones for data/photo/gps collection and pay my client per job. It has meant thousands of sales of Windows-based phones. Now it’s probably easier to move to Android than ask permission from Microsoft to let us to load our own apps onto our own phones. We can’t be the only ones. Very stupid imo.

  15. MS, do you remember how do you become the winner in PC world? Let me remind you: DOS is an open platform for all programmers to develop application for FREE. That’s why Apple becomes loser in PC world.
    This time, you create a closed platform just like Apple do?

    Android must become the king in PDA world.

  16. MS move to charge developers to create app for their own use is pathetic. As a dev I was excited abt WP7 thinking that I can develop some apps for my own use. Let’s hope MS will change their mind and give us the freedom to develop app for ourselves.

  17. sony, this is no different than xbox and few have complained. It would be really nice if everything were like the pc where we could at least dabble and not pay until we want deployment. Android is looking better and better.

  18. I have 50 iPhone apps, I want to move to Windows 7 phone. But do not know where to get the Developer Phone. I do not want to rely on stupid simulator to test my apps. I want to test on real device ….. Unlocked Developer Phone ….

  19. Anyone know how long it takes to be able to register a device for debugging after activating a student account with DreamSpark and registering with AppHub? Everytime I try and register my device I get a “Registration not complete, please see developer portal”. Do I have to wait for GeoTrust???

  20. i wouldnt mind this if it was actually putting something on the marketplace… but this is just to be able to test/deploy applications that may NEVER go to the marketplace. How are you supposed to try out and make interesting things if you have to jump through hoops just to try out development on a windows phone?

  21. i must admit im new to the hacking world and i had no problem hacking the iphone 3gs but i am having trouble cracking the lg windows 7 phone and from what i have been reading the only way to enter the unlock code is to pay for it? surely, there is someone with the old fashion pride of hacking that has released a free way to unlock this device !?! any help would be greatly appreciated

  22. unlock HTC Mozart WP7
    Hi, i’m Fenny.
    I would like to know how to unlock WP7 without jailbreak? And i’m currently in Malaysia. As i know, Microsoft doesn’t support my country to unlock my phone. http://www.yallaapps.com/faq#launched-markets
    How do i effort to unlcok my phone? As they said that i can’t sign up with a different country for which i do not have matching ID for. GeoTrust cannot validate my ID from how i signed up. Please reply soon. Thank You.

    Regards,
    Fenny

  23. hi i’m using a wp7 as well i’m unable to install applications to my phone because of my region INDIA i’m unable to access marketplace and download the apps so can anyone help me out in this . .

  24. I also feel cheated by MS, purchasing a pocket computer (price and hardware suggesting it) paying real money to MS but cannot get a single line of my own code running on it. If this is the future of computing, then I hope MS like Apple and others will go down in flames. I will certainly never pay Marketplace tax for an app, which I develop for me only. Before I did not care about Apple, but now I am really upset about introducing such a system.

  25. I have developed an application. I discover later that i have to register. Romania is not in the list. I have tried with other country. When I want to make the payment, the country is completed with United States so I can not fill the form. Can anyone help me?

  26. sorry but i was trying to register,in the step of setup account,,after fullfiling the information,,it is not proceeding,what is wrong with that?,anybody can help me plz?

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