The Palm Pre webOS app store is open for business, paid apps are for sale and developers can apply to sell apps in December. Palm, announced it will officially open the doors to its Palm
webOS developer program in December. Developer will get a 70/30 split and open source app developers will not have to pay the app application fee.
"Our program will be unlike anything currently available, and has
been established to promote a thriving community by giving developers
direct involvement in their own success," said Katie Mitic, senior vice
president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. "Whether you're looking for
immediate distribution or just feedback on early stages of development,
this program is built to scale to your needs and finally put you in
control of investing in and promoting your business."
Each element of the Palm developer program is designed to help
developers promote their work and ultimately drive downloads directly
over the air. Developers can choose to sell applications using both
distribution options as they see fit. Palm's application guidelines
will be made available online and will apply to all Palm webOS
applications. U.S. customers will be able to easily purchase
applications using Visa and MasterCard credit cards. More information
about the Palm developer program is available on the Palm Developer
Network at http://pdn.palm.com.
The launch of the program is the next step in expanding the impact
of Palm webOS by supporting and growing the developer community. In
August, Palm announced that developers who wish to charge for their
Palm webOS applications could begin submitting them for consideration
in the Palm App Catalog e-commerce beta program, which went live today.
Developers selected to participate in the beta program have the
opportunity to make their applications, both free and paid, available
to consumers.
Palm is focused on building a thriving environment for all
developers to create, distribute, promote and monetize the delivery of
valuable applications to Palm customers. Developers will receive a
70/30 split (developer/Palm) of gross revenues generated through
application sales (after applicable taxes). The membership-based
program will have a $99 annual fee and will offer developers two
options for getting their applications to market:
- Distribution on the web--Palm will provide a sales transaction and
fulfillment service for developers who wish to promote their
applications online. Every App will receive a unique URL, allowing
developers to freely promote their applications online and enabling
customers to download and install the application directly from the
cloud to their phone using Palm's unique over-the-air process. This
distribution option offers a fast self-certification process as well as
the ability for developers to control the distribution and promotion of
their applications using the online marketing vehicles they already
have and creating new ones as they see fit. - Distribution in the Palm App Catalog--Applications distributed in
the Palm App Catalog that is built in to every Palm webOS device will
be subject to review by Palm, and developers will pay a nominal
per-application fee of $50. In addition, Palm will create a unique
promotional marketplace where developers can utilize an auction process
to obtain prominent placement in the Palm App Catalog and find new
customers.
Public feeds of application URLs and other relevant application data
(such as reviews, ratings, and stats) will be made available to the
community to help applications find their market. Palm expects
directories, ranking mechanisms, and other inventive services built
around this data to emerge.
Also, in appreciation of what the open source movement has
contributed to the web, Palm will waive the $99 program fee for
developers interested in distributing open source Palm webOS apps to
the web. If the source of an app is available to the public under one
of the commonly accepted licenses, it will be eligible for this program.
Both distribution options include a support program that will
provide developers the tools to quickly build, test, distribute and
receive feedback on their Palm webOS applications. Developers can
control how beta testers access their applications, allowing them to
iteratively improve their products and scale to their needs.
"We're listening to developers, and the message that they want
choice and an option to self-certify their applications has come
through loud and clear," said Mitic. "The flexibility that comes with
our program's easy way to test mobile applications, as well as the
ability for developers to use the web to market and promote their own
applications and boost sales, is invaluable.