Open webOS: Palm's platform goes open source
HP's Meg Whitman has finally made the fateful decision on webOS: it's going open source. Follow along here as we track the former Palm software through its transition into a free-for-all operating system.
First LG webOS TVs to launch in 2014 with revamped interface, but details still light
LG's first TVs running webOS will launch in early 2014, possibly at CES. That's the word from our sources, and loosely confirmed by LG VP of communications John Taylor, who said webOS is in "fast track development" in a conversation yesterday. "It's going to be in a product very soon," Taylor told me. "Not in 2013, but soon thereafter." What's more, webOS will be integrated into LG's main TV products, according to North American VP of smart TV Samuel Chang, who said the products would ship in...
HP emerges as big winner in webOS sale, and LG doesn't rule out a phone
HP will indeed sell key pieces of its webOS product and team to LG for use in smart TVs, but contrary to earlier leaked reports, the deal doesn't include the entire webOS portfolio. What's more, LG's plans include the possibility of eventually producing a phone or other mobile devices that run webOS, although the company remains focused on televisions in the short term. The result is a deal that looks like a clean exit from the webOS debacle for HP, and the beginnings of another muddled,...
LG buys webOS from HP for use in smart TVs
We might not be seeing new phones, but webOS is still alive in some form, at least: LG has reportedly agreed to buy the rights to the OS from HP and use it in smart TVs. According to CNET, the Korean manufacturer has acquired source code, employees, patents, and more in the deal, of which financial details are yet to be disclosed. Last year we heard that LG was working on a smart TV based on Open webOS and hoped to show it off at CES — that didn't come to pass, of course, but it turns out...
LG reportedly working on Open webOS-powered smart TV
Google TV hasn't taken off despite LG's best efforts, and now it seems the Korean manufacturer may be pursuing other options. According to webOS Nation, Gram (the reborn incarnation of Palm) and LG are working together on a new smart TV powered by Open webOS. While webOS would have a lot of catching up to do before it could become a credible smart TV platform, apps such as Netflix, YouTube, and Pandora are apparently being rebuilt for the Enyo framework.
WebOS Nation's sources say that LG...
HP looking for more than 50 developers in webOS hiring spree
When HP announced that webOS would become an open-source platform, the company stated that it would be an "active participant and investor in the project," and it looks to be keeping its word. The Powerbase has found more than 50 job postings at HP looking for developers in Sunnyvale, California and Shanghai to work on webOS and Enyo, the operating system's HTML5-based application framework. The positions range from internships to both senior designers and engineers.
With Open webOS finally r...
Open webOS reaches version 1.0 on time, completes its open source transformation
Today is the last weekday in September, and that means today is the last day for HP's Open webOS team to keep to the roadmap it set for itself in January and complete webOS' open source transition. It turns out that the team was able to achieve that goal, as Open webOS 1.0 is available now as a final, non-beta version. The operating system itself hasn't experienced any major changes with the bump up to version 1.0, but the web-based Enyo 2 application framework is now supported.
What does...
Open webOS reaches beta milestone: 'we delivered on our promise'
The team responsible for open sourcing webOS — composed primarily of HP employees — has hit the beta milestone for Open webOS 1.0 today, which is on track with the schedule HP originally announced for the platform in January. Though there's no specific hardware compatibility mentioned, we already have a sense of the plan here: the project is trying to align the kernel with Android's so that it can draft off of hardware that's been designed to run it. In the meantime, the package ships...
Palm reborn as Gram, as focus shifts to software, UX, and cloud services
A year after HP acquired Palm it renamed its new prize the webOS Global Business Unit, and now, a year later, it’s switching things up again. This time, the name of the new identity is Gram, reports webOS Nation, and along with the name change comes a refocusing; from consumer devices to "software, user experience, cloud, engineering, and partnering," presumably employing Open webOS and the web standards-based Enyo application framework, although we learned in May that several core...
Open webOS will not support existing hardware, leaving Pre, Pixi, and Veer behind
It's been an emotional journey for fans of webOS, but there was a glimmer of hope for those who owned the Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, or HP Veer in the form of Open webOS. That promise disappears today, however: Open webOS' July update contains the disappointing news that existing hardware will not be supported by the open source OS.
"For open webOS we are aiming for support on future hardware platforms where SoC’s support Linux 3.3+ kernel and where open source replacements for proprietary...
Web & Social
HP's open source Enyo 2 app framework goes gold, not just for webOS anymore
Version 2 of the web-based Enyo application framework — an integral part of HP's roadmap to launch Open webOS 1.0 later this year — has just exited beta and is now available for developers to use. Unlike Enyo 1, which was designed specifically for the TouchPad and other doomed webOS products, Enyo 2 is intended to be a completely platform-independent library that can be used to create apps that work across a variety of browsers and mobile devices. Among other changes, the gold release...
webOS 'Community Edition' released for TouchPad, but it isn't Open webOS
HP's march to an open source webOS continues this week with something of a side trip: the release of a so-called "Community Edition" release, which the Open webOS Project is quick to note isn't the same thing as Open webOS proper. Instead, webOS Community Edition is essentially an open source cut of the version of webOS that's running on the TouchPad (3.0.5), which the team says will allow you to "modify your TouchPad experience and then apply that learning to Open webOS 1.0 in the future."
W...
Mobile
Remaining Enyo team says it's 'redoubling' development efforts
The official blog for the HTML5-based Enyo framework has responded to last night's news that key members of the team are departing for Google, saying that it would like to "clarify some of the news reports you may have read today." Notably, the team — which is an open source project that just happens to be comprised mostly or entirely of HP employees at present — says that "the majority of the engineering and leadership team remains" and that it's "redoubling" efforts to continue...
Exclusive: HP's core webOS Enyo team is going to Google
The HP team responsible for Enyo — webOS's HTML5-based application framework that debuted on the TouchPad — will be leaving the company and starting at Google shortly, The Verge has learned. What this means for the future of Open webOS is unclear; Enyo and the developers supporting it are central to HP's open source strategy for the operating system going forward, and it's hard to say whether this move will have any effect on the planned late 2012 release for version 1.0.
What the Enyo...
HP's elusive Touchstone audio dock, found and reviewed
Last year, an audio-enabled version of HP's Touchstone wireless charging dock appeared on eBay with a discontinued Pre 3. With HP taking a step back from webOS, this review from webOS Nation is as close as most of us will ever get to the unannounced and never-sold Touchstone 2 Audio Dock. Based on what they've found, that's not exactly a tragedy. "For every 'we like this,'" they write, "the Touchstone 2 throws a roadblock up in our way of giving it a stamp of approval."
The Touchstone 2...
Enyo 2.0 gets new UI widgets for cross-browser support
HP snuck in just under the wire in keeping up with its Open webOS release schedule, updating Enyo to 2.0b2 and adding new UI widgets and performance improvements. For the unfamiliar, Enyo was the JavaScript framework that powered webOS on the TouchPad and is now an open-source rendering engine for web apps, as well as Open webOS development. The update introduces Onyx, a UI library of pre-made elements for developers to take advantage of. It's based on existing webOS controls, but the...
Mobile
Open webOS delivers additional code, new Isis browser, and governance model
The webOS team inside HP had said that it planned to deliver more source code for Open webOS to the community roughly once a month when it first announced the project in January, and it's making good on the February commitment today with the release of UI widgets for Enyo 2 (which had been missing from the initial code drop), the platform's JavaScript core, and a new browser, Isis. Isis is definitely the focus of this month's deliverables, underpinned by QtWebKit — originally open sourced...
Apple
FlashCards To Go is first Enyo app on iOS
When HP transitioned webOS and its app framework Enyo 2.0 to open-source projects, one of the major selling points of the system was its cross-platform capabilities. Now, the first app developed with Enyo has appeared in the iOS App Store. James Harris' FlashCards To Go has just come out for iPad, making iOS the sixth platform supported by the learning tool. BlackBerry and Mac App Store versions are still in the works, and an Android version is also out, although another Enyo app beat it to...
Mobile
Enyo cross-platform apps: hands-on with Flash Cards and Paper Mache on iOS and Android
HP had to kick off its Open webOS 1.0 and Enyo 2.0 announcement with some app examples, right? Two popular webOS developers have just released cross platform versions of their Enyo apps, and they are the only proof you need that these apps are ready to spread their wings beyond the webOS coop.
First up is Ryan Watkin's Paper Mache. The free Instapaper client is now available in the Android Market (although, you need a paid Instapaper account), and while it's got the pane layout that we've...
Mobile
Open webOS 1.0 announced: HP to complete webOS open sourcing by September, Enyo 1.0 and 2.0 code available today
Following up on its December announcement that it would open source the platform — a last-ditch effort to make it viable — HP has gone into detail today on exactly when and how developers will be getting access to webOS code. The company expects the entire open sourcing process to be complete by September, while Enyo, the application framework that debuted on the TouchPad and underpins webOS 3.0, is available as of today along with related developer tools. When open sourcing is complete,...
Apps & Software
HP wanted $1.2b for webOS and other Palm assets, says insider
HP spent $1.2 billion to acquire Palm in 2010 and, according to an insider source, that's exactly how much it was asking when trying to sell off those same assets a year later. That's the word coming from VentureBeat, which also connects this lofty asking price to a rumored meeting between HP and Facebook where the HP negotiators were laughed out of the room, ostensibly due to their high demands.
It was always at least a little curious that HP couldn't find a suitable buyer to purchase its...
Meg Whitman and Marc Andreessen on webOS: 'We will use webOS in new hardware... in tablets'
We've just had a chance to sit down with HP's CEO Meg Whitman and board member Marc Andreessen to discuss the future of webOS given today's announcement. Both Meg and Marc were eager to talk about webOS not as a dead end, but an active platform which the company would continue to put resources and cash against. Most surprising of all? The company plans to create new webOS hardware... including tablets. We've transcribed the full conversation — so read on below.
Will HP be creating any new...
Mobile
HP has no plans for future webOS phones, may build tablets (update)
HP's statement announcing the open-sourcing of webOS skirted the issue of whether the company will produce future hardware for the platform, but the answer could have emerged in its accompanying FAQ. While not completely dismissing the possibility of using webOS again, HP has downgraded it to the same status as "other leading operating systems," meaning that the company isn't likely to develop hardware for it, but will "explore the viability" of doing so. That's probably as close as we're...
Mobile
webOS being open sourced, says HP
HP has finally decided the fate of webOS today, and it's an open one: the platform will be contributed to the open source community. The company says that it will be an "active participant and investor in the project," and that its ultimate goal here is to accelerate development. In other words, it doesn't want to pump the amount of money into webOS that would be required to make it fully competitive, so it's looking to the public to help make that happen.
As for Enyo — the app framework...
