Open webOS: Palm’s platform goes open source – The Verge

Team behind webOS releases its abandoned interface redesign to the community

2014-04-05T19:38:02-04:00

Palm's innovative mobile operating system, webOS, was never a commercial success, but the team behind it certainly had some great ideas. Now, long after HP largely abandoned the operating system, the team is releasing one of its most intriguing user interface ideas to the community for further work. The project is known as Mochi, and we first revealed it earlier this year alongside some of very last ideas that the webOS team was working on before HP scuttled its plans. The user interface overhaul introduced a cleaner, "flat" design long before Apple and Google made similar moves, and it included a feature that expanded "cards" so that you co …

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First LG webOS TVs to launch in 2014 with revamped interface, but details still light

2013-02-26T13:05:53-05:00

lg smart remote

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 "82 countries with multiple screen sizes and price points."

Taylor and LG's North American VP of smart TV Samuel Chang called me to rebut my earlier r …

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HP emerges as big winner in webOS sale, and LG doesn’t rule out a phone

2013-02-25T12:00:43-05:00

hp webos

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, confused chapter for Palm's operating system with LG at the helm.

According to HP COO Bill Veghte, LG will acquire the source code, documentation, websites …

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LG buys webOS from HP for use in smart TVs

2013-02-25T04:07:53-05:00

LG CES 2013 stock 1020

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 there was some truth to the rumors.

There was some truth to the rumors

Skott Ahn, LG's president and chief technology officer, says "It creates a new path …

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LG reportedly working on Open webOS-powered smart TV

2012-10-24T22:14:58-04:00

Gallery Photo: LG Smart TV with Google TV hands-on photos

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 isn't "comfortable with Google's terms for using Google TV," as well as having understandable concerns over the platform's adoption rate and the threat of …

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HP looking for more than 50 developers in webOS hiring spree

2012-10-04T13:42:19-04:00

HP logo stock

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 reaching version 1.0 - and even making an appearance on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus - development of the operating system seems to be moving in the right dir …

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Open webOS reaches version 1.0 on time, completes its open source transformation

2012-09-28T15:15:05-04:00

via assets.sbnation.com

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 that all mean for consumers, though? We've already been told that original webOS hardware won't be supported, but now that open sourcing is complete the O …

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Open webOS reaches beta milestone: ‘we delivered on our promise’

2012-08-31T19:37:02-04:00

Open webOS

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 with an ARM emulator.

All told, Open webOS now has 54 open sourced components under its belt totaling some 450,000-odd lines of code. The original plan was to …

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Palm reborn as Gram, as focus shifts to software, UX, and cloud services

2012-08-15T01:20:04-04:00

gram logo (webos nation)

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 contributors to the latter are on their way to Google.

Whereas the webOS GBU was a business unit within HP, Gram will be its own company; still wholly-owned by H …

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Open webOS will not support existing hardware, leaving Pre, Pixi, and Veer behind

2012-07-31T16:32:37-04:00

via cdn1.sbnation.com

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 components are integrated. Existing devices cannot be supported because of those many proprietary components, including graphics, networking and lack of driver …

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