Instead of shelling out ~$600+ for an unlocked Android development phone device can you use a used phone that is not connected to any wireless carrier?
I see Android phones for sale on Craigslist all the time that people want to get rid of whenever they get an upgrade. They are usually a year old at least but as long as it is in working order that’s okay with me.
Are there any downsides to this? Can you use these phones as legit development devices? Are they crippled or anything if they are disconnected from a carrier? They can’t make calls or send/receive text messages obviously. But as long as you can use them with a WiFi connection it seems like you’d be able to test quite a bit.
Precisely what you said. You can’t make calls/receive texts, but for development it’s good enough. Don’t know actually if Market will work, but you will find out soon enough.
The only thing that comes to mind is that locations are often provided by carrier networks. You will then need to be connected with WiFi or use GPS to find your locations.