HP sets September date for webOS open source release

HP has delivered the roadmap for its planned open-sourcing of the webOS mobile platform earmarking the end of September 2012 as the date to complete the tranisition.

HP will release key components of the operating system in the coming months, culimating with the September distribution of Open webOS 1.0.

"HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community," said HP chief strategy officer Bill Veghte.

"This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform's development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications."

HP's deadline falls nine months after the company first unveiled its plan to hand over the embattled mobile platform. Originally acquired when HP bought Palm, webOS had been in limbo since the company abandoned its mobile hardware business.

Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King told V3 that with a strong developer base, webOS could emerge as a viable platform for both consumer and business use.

"The webOS platform has a fairly significant and enthusiastic developer base that will be the drivers of this thing if it takes off," King explained.

"If you look back at the history of open source, particularly in the early days of Linux, the time that it took to gain altitude was dependent on the time it took Linux to attract a significant number of developers."

An open-source webOS could also lure hardware partners should Google make any serious mistakes with its handling of Android. King noted that security in particular was becoming an issue for the platform.

"Google really needs to take a serious look at the way its allowing applications into its app store," King explained.

"If Android has another semi-disastrous year security-wise, mobile vendors and developers may be looking for a way out of the party."

HP recently issued an update to the platform for its TouchPad device that it sold off cheap last year.