Palm's webOS, the OS Built From the Web, Puts Users and Developers First

There's been a ton of talk lately about several mobile operating systems and their problems, such as language restrictions, fragmentation, and anti-competitive practices. It's never a good idea to talk bad about your competition, so I'll take this opportunity to simply say a few things about the webOS (the OS that powers Palm's Pre and Pixi phones) that you might not know. As always, I am writing this as Josh the blogger. These are my opinions alone and do not reflect the opinions of Palm Inc. webOS devices are part of the web, not tethered to a desktop. You install apps through the web. You your data is backed up to the web. OS updates come through the web. Your address book is a merged view of your contacts living in the web. You never have to sync to a desktop computer. I know some Pixi users who have never once plugged their phones into a computer, because their phone is already a part of the web. The webOS treats it's users like grown ups: they can install any apps they want. What if the app duplicates a built in app? Fine. What if the app isn't in the on device catalog? Fine: you can install apps from the web or beta feeds without any restrictions and do the marketing on your own. What if the app hasn't been reviewed, came from my cool programmer friend, and might hose my device? Well, if you enter the developer code into your phone then you've accepted the risk and can in...

Date: April, 15 2010
Url: http://www.java.net/blog/joshy/archive/2010/04/15/palms-webos-os-built-web-puts-users-and-developers-first

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