Palm App Catalog tops 1,000 mark
updated 12:15 pm EST, Fri January 1, 2010
Palm's first 2010 app also a milestone
Palm today marked the start of 2010 with news that it has already reached the 1,000-app benchmark promised yesterday. The first webOS app of the new year is the release of a native reader for Engadget that provides a streamlined way of viewing the various sites in its network as well as listening to its podcasts. The free app works with both the Pixi and Pre.
The release underscores the relatively low tally of webOS apps compared to the 16,000 of Android and nearly 10 times as many for the iPhone. Tight early controls around access to webOS' SDK for the first few months not only led to a slow start, at a few dozen apps versus 500 for Apple, but also discouraged widespread development until a few months after the first webOS phones were already on store shelves.
Enhancements to webOS for native 3D as well as the spread of the phone to multiple US carriers is expected to give Palm a significant boost to its app library as they will allow both more app types and reach a wider audience.
