How to develop Windows Phone applications without SLAT

Question

I decided to start developing for Windows Phone, downloaded Visual Studio 2013 with Windows Phone SDK and in finishing window installer said that I can`t use emulator because of not SLAT-compatible computer. What should I do?

I found Windows Phone 8 Emulator on non-SLAT Machines and now I ask Is it really a solution:

It works, but not on Windows 8. Windows 2012 server uses hyper-V version without requirement of SLAT.

So:

1. Windows Server 2012 trial (i use Developer version).
2. Installed on physical device - not on VM.
3. Install slat-less feature Hyper-V. Standard WP8SDK.

And voila. It worked like a charm. And it's kinda fast. First emulator on list in VS loads about 30 sec. More advanced take longer but not much. Deploying is instant. Give it a try if youre not to buy phone or new computer :)

Answer 1

Yes it's possible to develop apps on a machine without SLAT. It is not, however possible to run the emulator (in any kind of supported manner) on such machines.

It is possible to develop without an emulator though. You'll just need an actual device to test on.
This shouldn't be a barrier though because even if you have an emulator you should always test on a physical device. It's just a little bit more awkward to use a physical device sometimes.

On the plus side a physical device will let you test some things that the emulator can't. e.g. proximity
But on the downside the emulator makes it easier to test other things, like location changes or how the app will look on different resolution devices.