Palm Adds New Members to Its Developer Network

Sunnyvale-based mobile phone maker Palm announced recently that it planned to speed up the process of making the SDK for its new webOS platform available for the general public, so that more developers would have the opportunity to come up with applications for the operating system. The company also announced that the SDK was expected to become available before the end of the summer, but not earlier, due to the fact that “the software and the developer services to support it just aren’t ready yet.”

Even so, the announcement also stated that more developers would be added to the early access program, in a sequential growth, and it seems that the first invitations to the Palm Developer Network have already been sent. According to a new post on the Palm Developer Network Blog, dated June 26, “the first batch of invites went out today and the webOS developer community is now almost double the size it was yesterday.”

According to the company, the plan is to double the webOS developer community again this week, while the growth should continue as fast as the resources allow it. Basically, the mobile phone maker plans to offer the SDK to all those interested in it and more invitations will be sent shortly: “we’re working on it and will continue to work to get as many of you into the program as fast as we can.”

The fact that more Pres make it into the hands of users and more applications are required (the downloads in the App Catalog have recently topped 1 million, with 30 apps available on the portal and with reports pointing towards a number of 150,000 Palm Pre units sold) is a clear indicator that the company should accelerate the early access program even more. There are only a few software solutions available in the App Catalog, yet Pre users seem to be hungry for apps, which means that developers should also be eager to gain access to the SDK.

The invitation to the developers supposedly contains the following lines, as shown by an anonymous tipster claiming to have been recently invited to the program:

Welcome to the Palm Mojo SDK early access program! We have approved your application, and you are now able to sign on, download the SDK and start coding.

Access to the SDK and any of the information in the prerelease portal is covered by an agreement you will need to approve the first time you log onto the system. The early access program is private and the material in the SDK is considered confidential. Until we’re done developing the SDK, we will not be releasing or discussing its contents publicly. You will have access to discussion forums on the developer portal and will be able to interact with other members of the program there, but as a condition of your participation in the program, we expect that you will keep the material in the SDK and the information you learn through the program confidential.