Palm to ramp up webOS developer access
updated 03:45 pm EDT, Fri June 19, 2009
Palm Ramps Up webOS Access
Palm on Friday said it hoped to address a dearth of apps for the Pre and webOS by stepping up the pace of its early access program for developers. The smartphone designer now plans to let in developers "as quickly as resources allow" and expects the pool of active developers to swell from "hundreds to thousands" in the near future. Palm also plans to publish more of the content from the program and will let developers talk more freely about what they can do with the webOS SDK.
When the SDK will be readily available hasn't been specified, but Palm doesn't expect its program to be finished in the near term as the resources aren't in place to support full-scale availability. Its current target is the end of summer.
Expanding the program comes as most early adopters are centering their complaints on the small selection of third-party apps available. As Apple was introducing the iPhone 3G S last week, Palm was listing just 18 programs in its App Catalog compared to BlackBerry App World's 1,100, Android Market's 4,900 and the App Store's 50,000. Without a fully public SDK, key companies have been unable to develop as freely as they have for Android and iPhones.
The operating system is believed to be relatively easy to develop for as it's based chiefly on universal web programming standards with only certain OS-specific features.
BETTER DO IT FAST!
06/20, 01:13am reply
Well I went and got the Pre as an upgrade from my 4 year old Treo700P I didn't think that it was going to take several months to see more then the current 30 apps for the Pre. It feels like a large step back when looking at my old Treo700 as I hate to say this but I'm still having to use my Treo still for many applications which is quite sad to say after making the move to the Pre.
I must say that the Pre's Address Book really STINKS, and not being able to group contacts into groups is a big downer for me. The Calander also has no color coding either unless you try the MissingSync app to pull this off but then if you by accident turn back on the Palm Synergy backup, it messes the whole phone.
ScottG
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Joined: Jan 2005
Bragging
06/20, 12:03pm reply
I think Palm is making a fool out of itself bragging these pathetic numbers. I guess it will work for uninformed buyers, but these numbers are really pathetic for a product that is suppose to be the iPhone Killer.
slapppy
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Joined: Mar 2008
Pre developer tools
06/20, 02:28pm reply
Isn't it more like the WebApps that iPhone had earlier. Frankly I wouldn't call that real apps. They are widgets. Using JavaScript or Web tools never really allow for powerful apps as do apps developed in C, Obj-C etc. I am not talking about Java or Flash as they are extremely heavy for any real app development for limited hardware platforms.
macnixer
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Joined: Mar 2006
Re:Bragging
06/20, 06:01pm (1 reply) reply
Um, who said the pre was supposed to be an iPhone killer? Oh, right, any smartphone, phone, music player, etc, that is ever built has only one goal in mind: to crush the iPod/iPhone.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
Re: Pre dev tools
06/20, 06:02pm reply
And when Apple did this, many of the fanboys lauded them as being the best of both worlds, until the API could be finalized. Does Palm not get the same help?
And didn't everyone talk about how Dashboard was going to be the next great app platform, perfect for the iphone. And that's all javascript as well.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001