Just a day after losing the Palm Pre’s ability to sync like an iPod with Apple’s iTunes media management software, Palm has opened the doors on its Mojo Software Development Kit (SDK) for webOS, the innovating new operating system that (right now) is only available on the Palm Pre. The first step to having a successful app store is having applications, and by letting anyone with a valid email address download the SDK and developer documentation for webOS, Palm is hoping programmers will flock to its platform to produce innovative new apps…and that, in turn, will push sales of the Palm Pre.
“Developers are an incredibly important part of the webOS ecosystem, and we’re eager to get the SDK into their hands,” said Palm senior VP for application software and services Michael Abbott, in a statement. “Now that the SDK will be available to a broader base of developers, we think the enthusiasm for webOS will only grow and accelerate. We’re very excited to work with developers to make this unique development environment even better.”
Although selected developers have had early access to the SDK since April, this marks the first time programmers around the world can easily set hands on programming materials for webOS. Palm says that new applications are already on the way for the Palm App Catalog, and that the company will open the application submissions process to all developers “this fall.”
Palm previously announced it plans to roll out its own “Palm branded” cloud service that applications can tap into via the Internet, including the Mojo Messaging Service, an XMPP service that will enable applications to publish information to a cloud, where interested parties and applications can receive notification that new information is available: such publish-and-subscribe services are key for creating push-enabled, live content in Internet-savvy applications and services. Although the Mojo Messaging Service will start out with a limited feature set, Palm says it plans to expand the service over time.
