Phoenix aims to rise from the webOS ashes

A new group of developers, calling themselves Phoenix International Communications, is assembling volunteers to build a community version of webOS. The group acknowledges HP's plans to release a finished version of Open webOS by September and says it plans to "continue from where HP left off."

So far, the group has not produced any code but is discussing plans of how to proceed. The stated goal is to take the eventual Open webOS release and build on it by adding features as well as fix bugs. Eventually, the group has said, they want to work with "an established manufacturer to introduce a line of custom webOS devices." It is not yet clear exactly how the group plans to accomplish this, however. A first step in this direction, according to the developers, will be an effort to advance webOS's hardware support and to port it to more devices.

Phoenix International Communications currently consists of a small group of engineers and developers; in addition, volunteers help with graphic and web design and server infrastructure. The leaders of the project have not yet said what form the finished entity will take, but the announcement seems to suggest that the group wants to take the form of a commercial entity.

The announcement of the Phoenix effort comes only days after reports that significant members of the development team of the Enyo component of webOS had left HP for Google.

See also:

• HP releases webOS 3.0.5 sources, a report from The H.
• Comment: Is webOS the new Plan B for mobile?, a feature from The H.

(fab)