Palm announced today that it will open its Palm® webOS developer program in December. Developers participating in the program will receive a 70/30 revenue split (of gross revenues) and have choice of how to get their applications to market.
"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."
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 ecommerce 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 will do that in two ways. The first is via Web distribution. Palm will provide a sales transaction and fulfillment service for developers to promote their apps online. Each app will receive a unique URL, so developers can promote their apps online. This means customers will be able to download and install the app directly from the cloud to their phone. The Web distribution option also offers a self-certification process
The second means of distribution will be the Palm App Catalog which is built in to every Palm webOS device. Developers will pay a per-application fee of $50. Palm is in the process of creating a marketplace where developers can utilize an auction process to obtain top tier placement in the App Catalog.
"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."