Cheap cell phone that I can program for

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Original post by Ainokea I would like a fairly cheap phone (read: less then $100) that I can program for.

I'm on the other side of the world so I don't know exactly how much the phones cost. That's my disclaimer.

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Original post by Ainokea Preferably I would be able to use C or C++ to program for it but that not a requirement, I would be willing to learn Java or any other type of language. I would also like it if that phone used an SDK that is widly used so I could play my game on other phones.

C/C++ gives you 3 main choices:
1) Mophun: it's a nice platform, but it is all but dead. Only a few Sony Ericsson phones implemented it, and I haven't seen any new phones come out with Mophun. So it's not a widely used platform.
2) BREW: you could probably get a cheap phone that supports BREW, but in order to develop for BREW on anything outside an emulator you need to shell out around $1500-2000. There goes that option.
3) Symbian or Smartphone devices: these are usually quite pricy.

So this means you're probably going to have to settle for a J2ME enabled phone. I think you could get an older Series 40 Nokia for cheap. And all the development tools are free. The platform is open so you don't need any licenses to get your apps on the phone (as opposed to BREW).

shmoove

So java it is, thanks.

In Europe, assuming you sign a telephony contract:

You can get decent Java enabled phones for 1 Euro now (SonyEricsson K700i, very good phone with high performance and only very few quirks; or the Siemens S65 for the same price, has a bigger, but lower resolution display than the K700i, less performance, but a better camera).

A SE K700i costs about $350 without a contract directly from Sony, and around $400 without one from most phone resellers. You will still need a SIM card or a dummy SIM card in order to use these phones for development.

If you mean $100 for a phone WITH a contract, your choices are practically limitless. If you want to go for C++ as well as Java on a Phone with only slightly more quirks than the K700i, get a Nokia 6600.

Motorola Handsets are good unless infested with Vodafone's VSCL, their displays are great and they have decent performance and features..

Nokia Series40 2.0 Handsets have tiny displays, but are very good otherwise - also as telephones. Best example being the Nokia 6230, which has become a top seller in no time. Not nearly as much fun as to develop for the SonyEricsson K700 or the Siemens S65, though


Avoid:
All Vodafone handsets, they are evil and most have important features disabled (MP3 upload, Java upload, Infrared...)!

Don't buy a SE T6xx series, for they are very slow. Excruciatingly slow, even!

Also avoid Samsung Handsets, unless you want to experience the epitome of suckage in J2ME compatibility and spend lots of money installing your apps over the internet (Samsung only allows OTA installs).

Do not go for NEC hardware, because these Phones are extremely picky with regard to Java, and have the worst menu systems ever.

You might consider LG phones, but these may cause you problems when trying to add sound to your apps (LG 8120 is a good example for a phone that badly mangles MIDI files on output)