webOS 3.0 NDA lifted for developers; prepare for app info flood 48
With the TouchPad launch just one day away, app developers have been chomping at the bit to talk about, show and promote their webOS 3.0 apps that will be available at or soon after launch. Unfortunately, that has not been permissible until now, because of the non-disclosure agreement required of all developers in HP Palm's early access program for the 3.0 SDK.
This morning, in a public post to Palm's developer forum, Chuq Von Rospach (Developer Community Manager for webOS) announced that the curtains have been lifted, the kimono opened, etc.:
I know a bunch of you have been waiting for this. Effective immediately, the NDA on early access members for webOS 3.0 is lifted. You're free to talk about it, your applications, coding, etc, etc. as you wish.
You also no longer need to use the early access forums for discussion, and should bring those discussions out into the public forums. Note that because there's no way to tell what inforamation in the early access forums is safe to make public, we will NOT be making those forums public, so please feel free to start fresh discussions in the public forum as needed.
We will be making the final SDK and tools for webOS 3.0 available as the public tool set; it probably won't happen today, but as of now, I'm going to stop adding people into early access and you can expect to see the software soon.
chuq
Get ready for a torrent (in the metaphorical sense, that is!) of information on webOS 3.0 app goodies, and watch for launch day reviews of many of them right here at PreCentral.
Source: webOS Developer Forum
48 Comments
I don't understand, how am I supposed to complain about this? Why are you posting positive news about HP, isn't the point of this site to give us trolls fodder?
They obviously should have lifted the NDA 2 days before launch :P
LOL, "complaining will find a way" (think jurassic park) =)
It's raining outside right now and I'm soooo angry about that.
D@mn you HP!!!
And I dont see any comments about "making it right".
Where are the "We want Pre on Sprint" users when we need them the most!
Oh man, this aint right. What's a self respecting whiner, post highjacking sprint user, pApple plant fanboy, and 'i told you so' dudes supposed to do now?
I am happier now than I was before I read this story...thank you HP and thank you all the developers that have been working so hard without getting much praise from us...since we didn't know what to praise you about...and we still don't...but we will soon...so...thank you!
Oh hey, I just noticed the background color on PreCentral is a dark blue...with a little fabric rippling texture mixed in there! Is that a nod to the typical background/wallpaper for the TouchPad?
Looks like a lot of little stuff needs to be fixed before it starts getting more positive reviews. "Bring on the patches!!!!"
True 'dat. On the other hand, I'm always an early adopter, and it's always fun to get a day0 device in your hands. =)
No way. I've learned my leason. I'm never buying new hardware from anyone ever again.
Then again, I guess it would be fun if it wasn't intended to be my primary device, and I had the money to blow, and I could just play with it.
takes so much discipline tho! I'm tight on money and wanna wait until thigns get reduced, the keyboard, dock, maybe a refurb touchpad. But I sooo want this thing... i know the software updates will fix a ton of issues to make this great.
webOS developers probably could use some good news after seeing the negative TP reviews which portent that flagship platform device will probably not sell very well at all which means that there will be far fewer potential app users than they were expecting.
Indeed. Isn't it time for yet another Hot Apps contest?
There's no point in another Hot Apps contest. Games are the ones that win those and Angry Birds is the only one in the TP catalog that could win. HP might as well write a check to Rovio to keep the updates coming. That way TP ads can say "...great games like Angry Birds"
There's Radiant and Armageddon Squadron, too, right? I honestly have seen so little mention of TP games, I'm not sure.
Rio is really whoring out Angry Birds, though. It doesn't matter that your platform has Angry Birds. Every platform has Angry Birds now, it's even in the Ovi Store!
I have an idea for precentral. Could you open a section of the site that literally picks apps from other platforms and request them with money. Think along the lines of a paypal donation system, you get a vote for a dollar.
We would then put financial bounty's on worthwhile apps from other platforms. When that developer releases the app for webOS, we give them the bounty.
That's what the App Catalog is for. Developers make popular apps and people vote with their wallets. App not popular enough? No sale. Not enough people in the platform to open their wallets? No sale.
I think nickbgsu is talking about something different, and I think it's a great idea. This would be more like Kickstarter where we would pledge money for devs that otherwise don't think it's worth their while to put an app in the webOS catalog. It would provide incentives to devs that are wary of "wasting their time" on webOS.
Bank of America is about to pay about 9 billion dollars to settle claims related to meltdown of mortgage backed financial instruments. Do you think they will pay any attention to a fund of a couple thousand bucks raised by people who want a webOS BOA app?
Not sure how that relates unless you were trying to force a Bank of America app. What I mean is picking gems from other platforms, especially from independent, smaller devs, and pledging real money. If they see enough votes, it might pursuade them to port their apps over.
What does it say when the "largest" technology company owns an OS, and its users are seriously considering "passing the cup" for apps in this fashion?
Think about it.
its nothing to do with HP being largest company. Its all about how many webOS gadgets HP sells. We will know in six months.
Great Idea!
I've thought this should exist for a long time. It is different from the App Catalog in that you have some up-front evidence as a developer regarding the interest, and thereby potential income, for the app. There are similar reverse auction sites for goods (the opposite of ebay/craigslist) where you say that you are willing to BUY something for a particular price. This is simply a version of that from a mobile community perspective. I think it is a great idea. The App Wishlist thread on the forums doesn't get much traffic or attention.
I like the idea, but what if that app just wasn't really good? I don't want to pay for an app until I deem it worthy of my money.
TouchPad will sell well enough. It's not an iPad, and won't sell like one.
Given the amount of money developers make on Android (some as little as $500 per month) - I'm confident that HP won't lack the inducement power to win thousands over in a short time.
Also, the fact that HP is being completely open with the hardware is a good thing. I expect rapid improvements and feedback quickly coalescing into the priority issues to be fixed.
lol, i would like to see how man webos developer make as much as $500 per month
I just came back from BestBuy and playing with 2 TouchPads.
- 1 of them was crazy buggy. Wifi didn't work. Everything was laggy and delayed. I even tried rebooting it to no avail.
- HOWEVER, the other TouchPad I played with was flawless. It is soooo awesome. I'm so excited about it now. Smooth and slick.
- I played with the iPad, the Iconia, the 10.1 Galaxy tab, and the Xoom. NONE of those operating systems can hold a candle to WebOS. iOS is polished, but just isn't WebOS. Android is just so unwieldy. It's really unintuitive. It's so weird to use and hard to find things.
- I can see what people are saying about the size and plasticky nature of the TP, but it's only 5% of the experience for me. Once you start using it, it's all about the OS.
Yesterday, I was second-guessing my idea of buying one after the crummy reviews, but now I'm much more happy. I'll be getting one now.
Yay!!!
Thanks for posting that. It helps me in my decision. I hope stability isn't based on luck of the draw, though. The demo units you used may have had different configs.
I also played with a couple TouchPads at BestBuy, as well as spoke with a BestBuy sales rep who was excited about the product and actually knew a few things about it! (Shocking, I know)
I am impressed. I went two nights in row to play with the demo. The first night, I walked away underwhelmed. The second night, I worked on the device for a least half an hour. I realized the strength of TouchPad is how well it handles the Web! Other OS users can say, "We have an app for that". Well, so does WebOS--its called the Web Browser and, like WebOS, it can multitask. WebOS doesn't have to wait for a developer to create some program that does what a web site has been doing for years. You just navigate to the web page do work just like I do at my desktop.
BTW, Flash support for videos on MLB network was OUTSTANDING!! And this was over BestBuys crummy WiFi.
It amazes me how Apple has succeeded in convincing the market that a fundamental weakness in their OS that requires the writing of specific "apps" is somehow a good thing. Marketing genius!
If all you need is a web browser, wouldn't you better off skipping tablets altogether and getting a Chromebook? Or even a more powerful netbook like Acer's Aspire One C22?
Bigger screens. Higher resolution. Very Light. better browser. Better Flash performance. No Hulu blocking. Document editing. Netflix. Better build quality. Real keyboard. USB ports. Video out. Starts up quicker than WebOS 3.0. Kazillion Windows apps or 5,000 Chrome-specific apps.
$100-$150 less than a 16GB Touchpad.
Oh, and when HP fulfills their "WebOS in a browser" in the coming months, jump right back aboard!
I really don't understand why every WebOS fan claiming that the TouchPad's browser solves all problems wants a tablet in the first place.
That one word you used answers your question(s): webOS.
I didn't say all I need is a web browser. I have used the tablet form factor for almost 10 years now (Motion Computing TabletPCs), and I love the form. It is very good for taking to meetings to take notes as well as relax and read. The Chromebook or netbooks do not offer the form factor. Plus, I use the productivity functions such as calendar and email and I enjoy photos, video and music. I look forward to ebook reading. Netbooks also do not have GPS with maps.
What I don't need is a Pizza Hut app when I can access the complete web page. In fact, while I do wish Epocrates would support WebOS, I can still use their web site for this much needed resource. I have used electronic banking for years without an "app" on my PC; WebOS allows me to access my bank the same way.
I have a good laptop (HP at that) PITA to just surf on the couch when I am sitting with family, or want to read at breakfast. That's why I use my Pre2 so much, but it is kind of a pain, too.
bottom line, I'm lazy. Give me a tablet!
Wow, and I literally just got in the Early Access Program yesterday...
Whoa. Looks like PreCentral just entered it's Blue Period.
SO glad the green is gone!
I Liked the Green
Change is good.
I still don't know why this isn't called webos|central though... :/
I'm furiously finishing up my enyo app! It's gonna be a long weekend!!!
do NOT like the blue..... the green was very soft on the eyes
HP will be singing the blues when they see the sales figures.
I like the blue... it's a bit of a change... wasn't sure I was at the right place from a quick glance though.
I was hoping that the change in color scheme was going to be accompanied by an official announcement of a Pre3 release date.
pheh.
Why not?
Clever Girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx6X_VLtfIc
Will there be an Ares equivalent for Enyo?
Yes, but same team writes it as writes enyo, so it will be a couple months or so.
Initial torrent of 300 apps, yes, but who wants to bet that will quickly turn into a trickle?
So i skimmed through this mess and still no app info flood like the headline promised.