HP gives timetable for Open webOS

HP has disclosed its plans for releasing webOS as open source with a timetable that results in open WebOS 1.0 appearing in September. The process will see elements of the WebOS system being released each month until August, when those elements will be brought together to make the Open webOS beta. A month after that, the company will then make a full release of Open webOS 1.0.

The full release will, unlike the current proprietary version, use a standard Linux kernel (to be released in March) though HP does not say which version of the kernel it will be using. All the webOS components will be open sourced under an Apache 2.0 licence, which is a licence that includes patent rights to required patents. HP holds many patents which may be relevant to potential webOS users, so the choice of licence will provide some assurance regarding any potential patent dangers.

The first stage of the release timetable has already been completed with the release of version 2.0 of the Enyo JavaScript Application Framework. Enyo 2.0 is currently only the core of the library but, unlike Enyo 1.0 which only supported webOS, it supports Chrome, Firefox and IE as well as other mobile browsers. The core library lacks any user interface widgets but, in March, the company plans to release an Enyo 2.0 version of the Enyo UI components – though this will be aimed at WebKit browsers only. In April, it plans to release Ares 2, a new version of its in-browser drag-and-drop IDE with support for Enyo 2.0 and many new features, alongside an Enyo 2.1 release.

In February, HP will announce how they intend to govern the Open webOS project, while releasing Qt Webkit extensions and a JavaScript core. In March, the standard Linux kernel, EGL graphics extensions, USB extensions and HP's implementation of LevelDB (which it is using to replace its current webOS database) will be made available. July will see the Luna system manager and bus and the core applications such as Mail and Calendar released, along with Enyo 2.2.

More information about the release plans is available in a post from Open webOS project CTO Sam Greenblatt. Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation commented in his blog that "by making smart early and crucial decisions like this, the project has a much better chance of succeeding".

See also:

• Comment: Is webOS the new Plan B for mobile?, a feature from The H.

(djwm)