Palm To Deliver SDK By End Of Summer 9
After many weeks of silence from Palm about their Early Access Program, Palm's one and only Chuq Von Rospach, the Developer Community Manager posted an update on the Palm Developer Network blog. Although no specific release date is mentioned, Chuq does say that they hope to get the SDK to everyone by the end of summer.
Very nice news or very disappointing news, depending on your point of view -- especially with the lack of new apps in the App Catalog as of late. Chuq even laid out Palm's plan of action:
- Beginning immediately, we’ll accelerate the growth of the early access program, expanding as quickly as resources allow. Over the next few weeks, the program will grow from hundreds to thousands of developers.
- Simultaneously, we’ll begin publishing more content outside the early access program, and we’ll launching new confidentiality rules that will allow early Mojo developers to communicate more freely with the rest of the world.
- As soon as we can, we’ll open the SDK to all legitimate requests.
Add to that Chuq recently alluded that Palm would be exiting their "stealth mode" soon, and Palm would appear to becoming a much more developer friendly and transparent with the community, in the near future.
Oh, and if you are a developer and still haven't applied for the Early Access Program, you can do so here.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in
9 Comments
Horribly disappointing! They made it sound around launch time like it would be very close to launch time. They are going to miss their big opportunity to steal some of this light from iphone 3gs and are blowing it. I can't believe we have no Facebook App or MSN Messenger. They have commercials everywhere for facebook and this device together but come on, did they not get included on the early development platform? I love this phone but we need to start getting 3rd party apps!
Yea lil disappointing because that means less buyers will choose the pre and even some new sprint customers will use that 30 day perios 2 return their phone... But I've had a centro before the PRE I'm good here @ sprint ... I say unleash the beast that the PRE is!!!
If someone returns their Pre within the 30 day trail period just because the SDK isn't available to the public right now, they shouldn't have bought the damn thing in the first place. Aren't there any adults with patience anymore? Has everyone else become cry babies who want their toys NOW!?!? Rome wasn't built in a day. A GOOD solid SDK and application catalog will take time too.
Developers are working on software NOW. They are just the ones that Palm has picked. Palm is opening up the developers that they're giving early access to the SDK too, so even more developers will be able to start work. This announcement does mean that Palm is making progress and isn't just stonewalling its customers.
Hell, if I'm that impatient, I'll root the device to play around with it and get Classic so I can use my existing PalmOS apps. That is why I will be buying one. The fact that it's running Debian, can be programmed with a simple editor, and it is cheaper to operate on Sprint than any other smartphone plan is just icing on the cake.
Perfection takes time. Why do you act like Iphone SDK was out on day one..it wasnt. Relax it will come. So far the Pre has held its own again the iPhone. We are in good hands.
I don't understand the specifics. Does this mean "hundreds" of 3rd party developers are CURRENTLY developing apps under a restricted program, and that by summer's end there will be "thousands" and the SDK will be available without restriction?
Lawrence
No it means that 99% of 3rd party developers can't even begin to develop anything for this phone until end of summer when the SDK is released. So were stuck with the handful of Apps you've seen so far in the App store as those are a few of the early developer program Palm allowed in.
I believe that is in fact what they're saying. Given that they've said hundreds are currently in the program and that the App Catalog is still in beta, I suspect that only Palm sponsors have been brought onto the App Catalog and there are many apps in the air waiting for app submission. That's just my personal opinion of course.
From my understanding over the next few weeks they'll be expanding the program to include thousands more developers and eventually releasing the SDK publicly later this summer.
Yes Skysurfer, that's what it means.
And, no, vomcom45, that's not what it means. Even w/o beeing in the early access program, you can start right now developing for the pre. And the apps in the store are not really the result of the early access program.
Um, what? What do you mean by saying that you can start developing now without being in the program? Are you referring to the hacking people are doing? I guarantee Palm will not be putting the programs anyone writes that way into the App Catalog. To ever become "officially sanctioned," we'll need to write apps using the SDK and its Mojo framework, which we cannot do right now without being in the early access program. And how do you think the apps in the store were written, if you say they aren't the result of the early access program? They absolutely are the result of the early access program or of one-off deals to supply other companies with the SDK.