Well, things just got interesting. The very evening of the
App Catalog's launch of paid apps, Palm has made a very different kind of announcement: it's going to let developers skip out on the App Catalog if they so choose. Devs will be able to submit an app to Palm, who will turn around and give them a URL for open distribution of the app over the web -- without a review process getting in the way! The App Catalog will still exist for those who want to use it of course, with a $50 entrance fee to get an app inside -- and we're guessing it'll remain the only way to distribute paid apps -- but the new URL distribution should decentralize things just a little bit. In other good news, Palm will be dropping the $99 annual developer fee for folks building open source apps, and hopefully that free ride applies to App Catalog entry as well, though now there's web distribution to make it less of a sticking point. Palm's also going to open up its analytic data to developers, and even is giving away Pres and Touchstones to the audience members of the little shindig privy to this announcement -- clearly the company is making a strong play for developers, and who doesn't like to be loved?
[Thanks, Lawrence]
posted Oct 5th 2009 11:47PM
Gauntlet: thrown.
Thrown yes, but weakly. Apple won't move unless it perceives the Pre and other webOS devices to be a threat and I suspect they don't at the moment.
That said, a very developer-friendly move.
No, Palm have just slit their own throat ....
The more desperate Palm gets, the riskier their behaviour....
Have no doubt the success or failure of the Pre means life or death for Palm.
Apple definitely won't do anything right away or probably even say anything in response to this. That's just not how they roll.
But they know all it takes is a killer app that does something Apple's SDK or App Store terms don't allow to get the Pre some more time in the spotlight. Apple wants to maintain the public image that everyone else's mobile software is only a distant second to theirs -- but Palm keeps making that harder, bit by bit.
Guess it was a good week to buy a Pre. If Palm can stay afloat for a couple years it should get itself back in good order. It's doing all the right things. The only reason it faltered for so many years was because of it's aging OS. But WebOS is a perfect answer to that.
The iPhone may have all the apps and publicity for the time being, but the game will never be over. For all we know this could be a repeat of the 80's all over again. If Apple keeps it's iron fist. In 5 years Android and / or Palm could be the dominate players. All Palm has to do is keep on the track they're on and remain in business. Which I have no doubt they can. Not everyone likes AT&T and not everyone wants an iPhone. The longer the iPhone is trapped to AT&T only, the better off Palm is while getting itself back on it's feet. In two years WebOS could make a real dent iPhone sales along side Android.
With other WebOS phones (like possibly the Pre) going to other carriers like Verizon, this is going to really open Palm up to be a serious contender again.
Remember the iPhone has been around for three generations and Palm is just getting started again with a 1st gen WebOS device. Things are bound to get better.
Hey Palm, since you are making up your strategy on the run.
How about dropping WebOS and going with Android?
Companies that keep changing their strategy (palmOS/WinMob/webOS/?) and can't execute deserve to fail, I am glad it is not my money being burnt to keep these clowns afloat ....
It will be interesting to watch the share price over the next week....
The death watch has officially begun!
ALL applications developed by external developers except for a VERY select few are "open source" due to the way Palm forces them to be written - HTML/javascript. There undoubtedly are VERY few server-side-functionality applications that aren't from that same select few.
Does that mean every application developer gets that $99 fee waved?
Or does a developer have to include a comment somewhere in their wide-open source saying "Yeah, we're good with copying" as well?
Ah...I see now...nevermind.
If you want to CHARGE for your wide-open-source code, you still have to pay the $99 fee.
Got it.
Save the Palm, Buy a Pre!
No complaints here
I think this is a pretty amazing revelation. There are many of us who are using apps such as filecoaster or preware to sideload apps alongside the app catalog offerings. I think this will strike a good balance for everyone involved. Casual users will find nice, polished apps in the catalog. Power users will seek out apps via other means. Developers can choose which method to use to distribute. The flat $50 fee isn't very much, and can be recouped quickly for a paid app, or even with an ad-driven free ap.
Bravo, palm.
I agree, great move by Palm. But the jury's still out on whether the flat $50 fee is better than 30% of sales. Seems like it could be a barrier to entry, at least for those afraid the Pre doesn't have the market share to push sales.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. As soon as Palm wakes up and starts releasing GSM devices with either microSD or 16GB/32GB versions, WebOS will be the best option on the market.
Another generic iPhone comment.
Another generic "First!" failed comment
Generic comment from Mark.
Palmfart apps incoming!
Yeah, but you'll probably be able to get fart apps in the catalog, too. The real benefit here is pretty obvious, I think:
Boobies.
yea but not just any boobies, open sourced boobies.
now that is nerd porn
And to temper this announcement just a little bit... as a major supporter of Palm, someone who loves the Pre, etc...
Palm completely and utterly f***ed up the paid app setup and had to scramble to pull everything and get this resolved. The App Catalog was poorly designed and allowed multiple ways for users to get applications for free, which means quite a few developers got screwed out of a ton of sales tonight.
chuq hopes to have the issue fixed by morning, but I'm not sure it'll be that quick a fix.
You got a sauce for that, or are you just rambling?
Well, I take everything back, considering it was that quick of a fix. The issue was that somehow everything was checked on the client end, which absolutely no e-commerce setup anywhere does.
Holy crap this is awesome. This means all those homebrew apps are going to be widely accessible soon, which I cannot wait for since I am tooo wimpy to put homebrew apps on my pre.
With all these recent announcements you would think that the pre would be getting some serious accolades. It's the least expensive phone on the market for what it offers, the sprint plan is ridiculously cheap, it's go an amazing UI and functionality, multitasking is seriously awesome once you've used it, and it's going to get flash which means things like Hulu and music streams will be available. They are packing in the features baby, and I love it.
You can't fault the phone for being lower priced than an iphone, whether or not it correlates to the device selling in large volumes has nothing to do with it being a high quality device. Public perception != reality.
I am very pleased with this announcement. I will be developing apps for my pre, and others. This is soo exciting!
I call the Shake a Baby app!
So keep your hands off!
Alert malware developers, start programming. Pre is wide open!!
Doubtful, Palm has the minority marketshare. Just like in the desktop world, the player with the largest share will be the target of future malware. In the case of mobile smartphones, that is clearly Apple and the iPhone or Nokia and Symbian if you are looking worldwide.
and... Its going to palm first...
of course, it's user beware, much like most things in life. walled gardens are not natural, and I personally appreciate the freedom
Check out the links in this story, they are finding numerous security holes, but I do take the point about low marketshare.
@chris
"Doubtful, Palm has the minority marketshare. Just like in the desktop world, the player with the largest share will be the target of future malware. In the case of mobile smartphones, that is clearly Apple and the iPhone or Nokia and Symbian if you are looking worldwide."
Wow, did Steve Jobs just walk in?
And you guys want... what? An open platform with no vetting process at all for Apps? Brilliant. Did you ever consider that just maybe that on top of Porn and Bomb Building, and Generally Weaksauce Games, Apple is rejecting anything that is... malware?
But no, the anarchists want to be free of the grip of 'the man'... no software vetting, no long waits for Apple to bless your software. Just let it all go straight to the customer.
Buh-rilliant.
S60 and windows mobile still have the largest market share, and you have been able to install any app from anywhere. Has there been a massive wave of phone viruses?
Whoa... Go Palm!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am one contract day closer to owning a Web OS device.
The Palm Pre will help to further shrink the pool of WinMo users once more and more begin to realize there is life outside the walls of Microsoft. Developers are showing a great interest in Palm's app store in contrast to the pathetic opening of WinMo's App Store. While it may be difficult for any one to catch up to the Apple App store, Palm's has a good start. Very good for them!
Agreed, just bring on the GSM versions.
Wonderful. Now, if Palm would deliver a piece of hardware that wasn't a load of crap, they'd get more WinMo users coming over.
Look at what's being released in the WinMo world: plenty of phones with 4"+ WVGA screens, slide-off keyboards, and SDHC slots. What's with the tiny screens? What good is a mobile internet if you can't see it? :-)
Seriously, I have no problems with the company supporting multiple form factors. Different strokes for different folks. They have the small screen w/ keyboard device (Pixi), and the small screen with extra small slide-off keyboard device (Pre). Now it's time for a real device for people with proper sized pockets and large fingers.
And I just got my Pre 3 days ago.
Love ya Palm.
Palm has done the best thing by making things open. an open platform will let users decide what they want. apple sucks, we need a viable alternative to apple, palm fits in nicely. they have a new hardware and OS, is not as evil as Apple is, is not headstrong and erratic with their behavior as apple is, and palm does not trample its customers.
Apple has succeeded beyond expectations by building its App store with an efficient business framework that allows developers a safe environment that avoids piracy. This creates a very safe environment in which developers can sell at low prices and in large quantities, thus making the Apple App Store a very attractive place for anyone willing to develop. As a result the catalog of apps has seen unprecedented geometric growth. In just 9 months the Apple App store surpassed the number of WinMo apps that took 10 years to build! -- And of course, who in the world has a phone that can use a 10-year old app anyway? The time gradient of released WinMo apps therefore significantly reduces the actual number of fresh Apps customers can actually use. -- Ultimately, thanks to the Apple App Store, customers and devs alike benefit tremendously by enjoying the superb ecosystem. But the fun doesn't stop there.
Thanks to Apple, their App Store has provided the blueprints for other stores to follow, such as Palm's. Now the Palm is taking these blueprints and molding them to fit their business strategy in ways that benefit them most. That they will succeed in achieving the same secure environment for devs such as Apple did is yet unknown. But they should learn from some of the mistakes the Android app is doing and improve upon their on model. So Ashok, next time you're buying a Pre app, thank Apple for it. =)
Apple recycles their ideas/designs and gives them a modern time flare to make them stand out. By the mistakes they made back in the 80's you would think they would analyze their none-transperency.
I see Palm slowly being the MICROSOFT OF SMARTPHONES IN A FEW YEARS. Apple with their mentality will falter back in the second spot.
The 80's all over again just digitalized. Microsoft appealed to hardware/software 3rd parties. Apple tried to create an isolated market. Same thing happening.
"I see Palm slowly being the MICROSOFT OF SMARTPHONES IN A FEW YEARS"
*insert comment about breakfast drink sprayed on expensive laptop keyboard*
They sold less than 1 million Pres at last count.
If Palm is alive in...the next few years, it will be a Miracle.
But hey, maybe you meant to compare them to WinMo which everyone, including MS, is trying to forget about.
Apple is a very intelligent company with the technological capability and business savvy to find new markets or enrich and grow undeveloped ones. Such is the case with the Apple App Store. Take a look at the garbage mobile app environment that Microsoft had dragging for over 10 years with WinMo for example. They just sat on the mobile OS platform and did zero with it; what's worse, they threw their weight around and fought off anyone who tried to enter the market with innovative competing products. Apple in the other hand, recognized that there was a vast, untapped potential to deliver a superb, vibrant environment framework in which developers could find a safe market to sell their mobile apps.
Palm will never be like Microsoft because it is not good for them. Microsoft rose to the top not by merit. Instead, they stole code and back-stabbed partners to gradually increase DOS and then Windows install base. By the early 90's they abused their monopoly position by actively blocking IBM from entering into the Operating System market for PCs. Same story went with the IE vs Nestcape case. These abuses got them convicted in a court of Law.
By the way, what the F*** do you mean by "the 80's all over again just digitalized"??? All the computers and software Apple ever built were digital, and all the software Microsoft ever wrote was digital as well. The last wide use of analog computers was in the 1950s, when neither Apple nor MS existed. Put down that bong jackass.
@I_love_MS.
Put down the koolaid raving fangrl... For starters, take a look at the garbage apps that apple has in your beloved app store and ask yourself whether there's really something useful there or if its just a pretext from which to spew your bias. I'll take one Mobile Excel or Google Voice over 80,000 fart apps any day...
After that, take a look at the locked down environment that apple has created for you. The irony of apple's fantastic "1984" commercial is that apple has become Big Brother. I guess if you're interested in someone else making your decisions apple is great - if that's not for you, choose choice.
Just say no to the Koolaid and think differently...
"For starters, take a look at the garbage apps that apple has in your beloved app store and ask yourself whether there's really something useful there or if its just a pretext from which to spew your bias."
Uh... calm down dude. Like he said... put down that bong.
"After that, take a look at the locked down environment that apple has created for you. "
How is it locked down? The fact that Engadget reports on every single app rejected because they have nothing better to report on doesn't mean it's locked down.
"I guess if you're interested in someone else making your decisions apple is great - if that's not for you, choose choice."
You really take this much too seriously. "choose choice" sounds like a slogan for something.
"raving fangrl"??? How old are you? 12?
@ HHS2112
I'll tell you to put down your bong as well, just for a minute. For starters, it is clear that you have nothing substantial to say. If you even had a hint of knowing what you were talking about --instead of just running your mouth off-- you would look in the App Store and find that there are several apps that cover MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Exchange opening, creating, editing. For example, the fantastic "Documents to Go " from DataViz, Inc.
So explain to us what "locked down environment" means since you appear to know so much about the Apple App Store. It could not possibly be that I have the freedom of choosing apps from the largest catalog of mobile apps ever in history right? I have the freedom of deciding which MS Office app for my iPhone I can download or which Financial app, Business app, Health Care app, Utility app, etc suit my needs best at the moment. And I can search for it and download it over the air anywhere, any time. This is the kind of life without walls freedom that Apple has created.
Of course that's in contrast to the toxic garbage WinMo app environment where users are forced into choosing from their very limited app catalog. Or just end up bootlegging what they need off of the Internet, thus making app devs lose money, discouraging further production of more WinMo apps and encouraging them to jump ship to the Apple App Store where they can find a safe environment and actually make money.
Stay thirsty my friends.
There are two very important differences between Apple of the 80's and Apple of today - they've got both critical mass and supreme brand cache.
Make it GSM and i'll make it a deal.