webos
Microsoft offering free developer phones for webOS developers
If you’re one of the unfortunate developers for the discontinued webOS, good news because Microsoft may be trying to get their hands on you. It appears that Microsoft is attempting to reach out to webOS coders by offering them free developer Windows Phone 7 phones and tools.
A good platform is usually determined by the number of apps available, and given the number of apps available on iOS and Android, it’s no surprise that both platforms are currently the biggest market share holders in the smartphone platform market.
It’s also no surprise that Microsoft is attempting to court as many developers over to their side as possible, which is essential if they are hoping to make Windows Phone 7 succeed.
Fans of webOS will be pleased to know that HP has decided not to kill the platform. Instead they are going the Android route by making webOS an open source platform from which manufacturers will be able to license it and put it on their phones. In a way they are learning from some of Android’s mistakes by declaring that they will ensure that there will not be any fragmentation, although we guess we will have to wait and find out.
At the moment it does not appear that there are any manufacturers who have expressed interest in licensing webOS, but perhaps we will start hearing some news soon. Will HP succeed with an open source webOS much like Android, or has the webOS name been tainted due to HP’s recent failures with the HP TouchPad webOS-based tablet? Only time will tell, but for now who’s happy that webOS is still alive and kicking, and open source to boot?
According to Reuters, HP has enlisted the help Bank of America Merrill Lynch to determine whether their financial interests will be best served by selling or keeping webOS. Sources are claiming that by selling webOS, HP would only be able to recoup a portion of the $1.2 billion that they paid to acquire Palm, suggesting that the sale on webOS would net HP a few hundred million, which we guess is better than nothing, especially since they’re not doing anything with it at the moment.
There have been tons of rumors in the past suggesting that HP had plans to sell off webOS, and various companies have been named in the past (although none of which are true or can be confirmed yet), such as Samsung, HTC, Amazon and even Nikon. What do you guys think? Should HP sell off webOS or should they give webOS another chance?
What will happen to HP’s webOS? After spending a large sum of money to acquire Palm along with webOS, it seems a bit of a waste for it to end like this, doesn’t it? There have been many rumors circulating the internet suggesting that HP may be killing off webOS, especially since they don’t really have a need for it anymore, but it looks like the death of webOS has been greatly exaggerated.
According to HP’s Todd Bradley, webOS will not be killed off and went on to say that those are unfounded rumors, and that HP was focusing on how to effectively use the “phenomenal” software. While they may not actually kill off webOS, selling it to the highest bidder could be a possibility.