MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - WebOs will be open source, and of course, alive and supported by HP

mersfire · 12-13-2011, 08:56 PM

I think this move is very strategic on HP's part. The company has historically been a hardware company and owning their own OS seemed like a big undertaking.

I've been a fan of WebOS since the original Palm Pre on Sprint and I think it trumps Android and also iOS (gasp!). I thought with HP hardware and Palm software, good things would come from this, but apparently ex-CEO Leo had other plans.

Android's adoption rate had been so rapid partly because it is open source and that hardware manufacturers do not need to pay royalty for using it (except for those that Microsoft are extorting, I mean have licensing agreements with).

Now that WebOS will become open source, I am hoping that more manufacturers will consider utilizing this platform (maybe in China or India). The homebrew community for WebOS is very strong and professional, so side loading apps have never been an issue. This means that it should be quite easy for third parties to create apps for their devices. And HP still seems interested in keeping their store alive as well. Many developers I know have made apps for WebOS because it's less crowded than the other platforms and now that there are apparently millions of devices deployed, perhaps it will attract more developers.

By open sourcing WebOS, HP can observe to see whether WebOS will survive and even gain in popularity. If yes, they can jump back in and make new hardware for it. If not, then at least the platform will hopefully live on at least in the enthusiast or even academic circles.

12-13-2011, 08:56 PM	#30
mersfire Member Posts: 16 Karma: 18897 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle	I think this move is very strategic on HP's part. The company has historically been a hardware company and owning their own OS seemed like a big undertaking. I've been a fan of WebOS since the original Palm Pre on Sprint and I think it trumps Android and also iOS (gasp!). I thought with HP hardware and Palm software, good things would come from this, but apparently ex-CEO Leo had other plans. Android's adoption rate had been so rapid partly because it is open source and that hardware manufacturers do not need to pay royalty for using it (except for those that Microsoft are extorting, I mean have licensing agreements with). Now that WebOS will become open source, I am hoping that more manufacturers will consider utilizing this platform (maybe in China or India). The homebrew community for WebOS is very strong and professional, so side loading apps have never been an issue. This means that it should be quite easy for third parties to create apps for their devices. And HP still seems interested in keeping their store alive as well. Many developers I know have made apps for WebOS because it's less crowded than the other platforms and now that there are apparently millions of devices deployed, perhaps it will attract more developers. By open sourcing WebOS, HP can observe to see whether WebOS will survive and even gain in popularity. If yes, they can jump back in and make new hardware for it. If not, then at least the platform will hopefully live on at least in the enthusiast or even academic circles.