Do I have to pay an annual fee, simply to test/deploy my software on my own phone?

Question

I cant see any way to get around this...

Answer 1

Yes, that's the only way.

Answer 2

Yes you are required to have a developer registration. Here is a good detailed walkthrough on how to do it - assuming you have paid the fee. It is very similar to how you have to pay the annual fee to deploy to an iOS device also.

Answer 3

If you are a student, no. You can use DreamSpark. Otherwise, you have to be a registered developer to unlock the phone, which means paying the $99 fee.