Android Development Device

Question

I'm looking to get a device (phone, tablet, etc.) for developing Android applications. I know I can use the emulator to get me started, but I feel like that will only get me so far along. I'm looking for something reasonably priced, and I don't want a phone contract, data plan, etc. Anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

I would recommend either a Nexus One or ADP2 ( you can get via Market once you sign in as developer. ). Other option is ebay. All attendees of google i/o got moto droid as a gift. And several devices are on ebay, priced around 350-400. I wouldn't buy G1 for a reason i think it close to end of life. I'd also avoid devices alternative homes and ui ( blur, touchwiz, sense ). You want to clean google experience phone.

Advantage of Nexus of Dev phone - you'll have engineered bootloader, which let you to install custom roms and you can get root access which among other things allow you to use awesome tool hierarchyviewer ( from SDK ) on the device .

Answer 2

As a registered Android developer you can get an unlocked phone for $399. However, I am sure if you keep an eye on ebay you can find something that will suit your needs at a cheaper price. I see a bunch of Motorola Droids listed for a little over $300.

Answer 3

If you plan developing something that might take an advantage of a hardware keyboard, get Motorola Droid/Milestone or a G1 (which you can turn into ADP1). I'm using the latter as my apps are targeted at 1.5+. Nexus One is the other option.

Answer 4

While the Nexus One and ADP2 are great because you can load custom builds of Android on them, that doesn't really sound like what you are most interested in. In fact, doing so will preclude you from running the Market application. For application development, you really just need any phone that lets you load non-market applications over ADB. You may want to consider getting a phone that has a keyboard to ensure that it works properly for your application. Finally, take into consideration which version of Android you are targeting. Newer phones run newer versions of Android.