HP: webOS goes open source in September

Software - Published on Thursday, 26 January 2012 18:00 Written by Jacob Hugosson

HP made a half-assed attempt to break into tablets and smartphones, but form VP Apotheker decided to make sure that didn't lead to anything. The praised operating system webOS that HP acquired when it purchased Palm will instead oopen up in September.

If and when HP will make its next attempt is uncertain, but webOS will become open source. The work has already been started and webOS source code will be available through the Apache 2.0 license. Apache is used to control the contributions made to the source code, and will according to HP offer a good legal framework that supports its vision of open innovation.

It will open up the operating system in steps and make some core applications like mail and calender available. Now in January it has started by releasing Enyo, which is for developing applications for a large selection of platforms, most of all webOS.

"Enyo 2.0 enables developers to write a single application that works across mobile devices and desktop web browsers, from the webOS, iOS and Android platforms to the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers -- and more," HP stated in a press release. "The source code for Enyo is available today, giving the open source community immediate access to the acclaimed application framework for webOS."

HP hade ett fullfjädrat ekosystem planerat med webOS

HP is planning to make the operating system open, but it is not before September that webOS has been completely surrendered to the open source community. The question is if any manufacturer will start using webOS, but also what plans HP has on its own for the operating system and the fast growing mobile market?

Source: Tomshardware