I second the Netduino[^] option. I've built several projects with it. Very easy to use.

Adam Benoit Quality Assurance Analyst 1shoppingcart.com / Web.com

But can you create Windows Phone 7 Apps? I'm guessing not because the Windows Phone Emulator requires Vista or 7 as per http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff626524%28v=VS.92%29.aspx[^] Operating system Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit. Note: Windows XP, Windows Server, Virtual PC, and Hyper-V are not supported. I Probably should have been more specific.

The main reason is that the Development tools need Vista/7. VS2010 needs these newer OSes. They are not trying to force Windows 7 on users, the tools take advantage of parts of the OS that XP simply does not have.