Palm encourages development of open source WebOS applications

Starting in December, Palm will allow WebOS developers to distribute their applications outside of the App Catalog store. In addition, developers who make open source software no longer have to pay $ 99 per year.

Palm has announced that it will allow developers to distribute their WebOS applications outside of the App Catalog. From December, developers can submit applications for the new distribution method. They then receive a URL that ensures that the application is installed on a WebOS device when a user clicks on it. That url can be shared with other users and installation is done entirely outside the App Catalog. In addition, Palm will not review applications submitted in this manner for distribution, and does not charge fees for app approval.

The App Catalog can be compared to the App Store on the iPhone. At the moment, applications can only be downloaded via the official ‘catalogue’. This will continue to exist alongside the new distribution method. Developers must pay $50 per program to put applications in the store, and this software is reviewed by Palm. However, the $99 annual fee that developers must pay to develop software for WebOS will be scrapped for developers who disclose the source code of their application. Palm also makes the statistics it collects about an application, such as how often it has been downloaded, available to the developer.