Palm Encourages Web Developers to Create webOS Applications

Palm's webOS features applications which are created using HTML, CSS and JavaScript--the building blocks of the web. The company is encouraging web developers to create applications for its webOS, because, they say, if they can develop a website, a webOS application should be a piece of cake.

Palm's revenue program gives developers 70% of the money made from their own applications, which is comparable to Apple, who also gives developers a 70% cut from app sales. According to Palm's Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith, "The web will be the route for ALL application usage (or enough to make it a viable channel for this proposition to hold water) so widening the doorway for online apps and web services to migrate to devices is a good thing."

Palm continues to monitor the applications which are submitted, but they invite all developers to submit their applications--even if it's a "new" type of calculator--hoping that some developers might have been inspired to create something new from their old tool box.

While the verdict is still out for Palm's Developer World 2010 in Las Vegas, its plug-in development kit (PDK) is scheduled to be released in March, and developers are already looking forward to its release. It's supposed to enable developers to extend webOS's capabilities using code written in C and C++. This will be a move in the right direction for game and rich mobile application developers.

Analysts say Palm's move is designed to entice web developers who are looking to create web/mobile applications, rather than the traditional desktop web-based applications.

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