Can I develop a personal app for Windows Phone 7 without going through the App Store?

Question

I want to develop an app for my own use only for Windows Phone 7. Can I do it without going through the app store? As in from my PC straight to the phone using USB?

Answer 1

You can do this, up to a limit of 10 apps loaded at a time (presumably per marketplace account).

You need to have an active marketplace subscription to deploy directly to the phone.

Answer 2

As of late 2011, you can unlock your phone for $9 in order to install your own applications: http://www.winrumors.com/windows-phone-chevronwp7-unlock-now-available-homebrew-apps-come-alive/