Since I don't know (and I don't think anyone does) when the next version of the Android Developer Phone that will support Android 2.x be available, can I use the following unlocked Android phone available on Amazon
to test my Android apps (that is after testing on simulators). Please share any experience you have on testing on real hardware devices, preferably without having to sign a long term contract.
I believe that the current generation developer phone is the Nexus One. It comes Sim unlocked and Bootloader unlocked and it's running Android 2.2. That said you can test your app on any device that meets the criteria of your app. The one thing that you do need to keep in mind is supporting multiple screen sizes. There are three sizes, ldpi, mdpi and hdpi. If you have a G1 / MyTouch then that's mdpi, if you get a Nexus One or Droid / Milestone that's hdpi, so you have those two covered.