Free Developer Devices

[lcpcstudios]

I just saw this post on wmpoweruser... does anyone here have any details on this?!?

http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-giving-...to-developers/

[Nokia Ron]

Yes this was announced at Nokia World, and some of the first to be seeded are the Nokia Developer Champions, Pro and LaunchPad members that were sent a letter in Februrary.

The rest will be seeded to true developers who attend training and other associted type events. They will not go to someone just becuse they say they are developing for WP on Nokia.

Ron

[iMarck90]

Hello Ron, I'm a developer for Nokia, a Launchpad Member and selected developer for MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan, i'm one of the lucky who have the Nokia N950.
I'm selected for this program or not? If the answer is "No", can I do anything to be selected? I would like to continue to develop for Nokia and its new platform.
Thanks

[lcpcstudios]

So even if you've been a windows phone developer and released apps... if you haven't been to a training you don't get one?

I have 6 apps on the marketplace right now(more coming) and would love to be able to test with a Nokia phone.

[slugg0]

Yes this was announced at Nokia World, and some of the first to be seeded are the Nokia Developer Champions, Pro and LaunchPad members that were sent a letter in Februrary.

The rest will be seeded to true developers who attend training and other associted type events. They will not go to someone just becuse they say they are developing for WP on Nokia.

Ron

According to http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-windows...tarting-today/ there is only one road show event in the USA in Silicon Valley at an unnamed place and time. I cannot get away from Seattle long enough to attend. Where's the info on the online videos? What constitutes "training and other associated type events"? Is online video enough of an interest? I am working on Android, but am interested in seeing what the new Windows phone has to offer.

[Popple3]

Yes this was announced at Nokia World, and some of the first to be seeded are the Nokia Developer Champions, Pro and LaunchPad members that were sent a letter in Februrary.

The rest will be seeded to true developers who attend training and other associted type events. They will not go to someone just becuse they say they are developing for WP on Nokia.

Ron

What about the people who can't go to training events due to the costs of getting to the nearest events, and are genuinely interested in Windows Phone development. I have 2 published webOS apps (would be more if HP didn't mess that up), and am currently working on an Android and iOS app for college. Microsoft let me down with their offer of devices for webOS developers, so I was hoping I might be able to get something from Nokia to kickstart my Windows Phone development. I'd love to attend events, but I simply don't have the money to.

[wizard_hu_]

What about the people who can't go to training events due to the costs of getting to the nearest events, and are genuinely interested in Windows Phone development.

Material accessible from http://create.msdn.com is completely free

[Popple3]

Material accessible from http://create.msdn.com is completely free

Yeah, I have the all the tools installed and have started developing an app, but I can't rely solely on the simulator for testing, especially when I want use multitouch events. I'm also a big believer in "tasting your own dog food" i.e. live with your app, and you'll fix bugs, tweak UX, implement new features, etc.

I'm not saying I should just be handed a phone, I'm more than willing to work for it, but I can't afford to go to events.

[wizard_hu_]

There is no announced distribution policy. However it is rather probable that some kind of 'history' is required for getting a device. 25000 seems to be a large number, but the 7 billionth living person is supposed to born this week (some calculates today).
If you are still a student, you can check if the free AppHub registration via DreamSpark applies to you, and your school may also have ways to get devices/support.

[amandalam]

Yes this was announced at Nokia World, and some of the first to be seeded are the Nokia Developer Champions, Pro and LaunchPad members that were sent a letter in Februrary.

The rest will be seeded to true developers who attend training and other associted type events. They will not go to someone just becuse they say they are developing for WP on Nokia.

Ron

I'm a recipient of the Nokia N950 via the MeeGo.com Community Device Program, and had my Launchpad account set up July this year. I have also signed up for an AppHub account too. Will I be eligible to have one then?

[amritpal2489]

Yeah.. thats what they reply.. But nobody gives an approximate idea about the dates...

[amritpal2489]

Any dates Ron???

[amritpal2489]

Nice suggestion joaocardoso.. i agree...
But i am sure there are some devs who would suggest against this

[tamhanna]

Nice suggestion joaocardoso.. i agree...
But i am sure there are some devs who would suggest against this

I would accept the fee if it would be prorated against future prolongements. Especially with inflation upcoming, knowing that Nokia eats the fee next year would make me sleep much better.

[adorable]

"Show of proof" is a great idea. Whether it's previously successful, published apps, or a prepayment on dev. phones. Maybe someday, it'll all be packaged as part of a $99/year developer store access fee if phones become cheap enough?

---

That said, MS is pushing out a new platform and starting from the position of last place with the new WinPhone 7 platform. It's serious about seeding and growing developers, which is why we're likely seeing so many devices being pushed out free to developers. It's a nice touch!

That said, some other aspects of the developer program this year could get some more focus.
eg. Like waiting 9+ months for my Launchpad application to go through =o
(Is there nobody checking to make sure >30 day applications are promptly processed?!?)
eg. Like publishing a clear map of the future of Symbian & WinPhone at Nokia.
(If internal plans are to totally kill off S60 by mid 2012, let's say, no point even starting development.)
eg. Like coming up with smaller deltas for Qt releases.
(Off-line ISOs pushing well past 1GB, can't update older Qt installs to the latest version every couple of Qt releases, and far bigger than MS WinPhone7.1 SDK?!)

Simple things to take care of, but such tiny roadblocks build up over time, and what happens to great developers? They ignore Nokia/MS and go off developing Apple apps in the meantime while waiting for something as simple as Launchpad.

Thus, free phones are necessary to overcome these roadblocks and pull developers into this world.