HP to contribute webOS to open source

Written by

HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community.

HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.

webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.


  • http://twitter.com/zwei zwei

    Does this mean pieces of WebOS could be stripped out and slapped into Android? Guess that depends on what OS license they choose?

    • http://streakmachine.com Robert Falck

      Speaking theoretically, yes. The license under which the code will be released will mandate a lot of the liberties we can take with it, but it would definitely be possible to “transplant” parts from WebOS to other systems.

  • http://www.thegraphicmac.com JimD

    Next year’s digital watches will run WebOS. You heard it here first! ;)

    Actually, I could see car makers using it for in-dash computers. Ford has a fairly impressive set up now.

  • http://mangochut.net/ mangochutney

    I still can’t help but weep at the fact that there will be no more “real” WebOS devices. I’d have hoped some other company would step up to the plate and buy WebOS from HP, but that won’t happen now I guess.

    OTOH given a certain amount of enthusiasts, it might become a real open source alternative to Android.