HP webOS Developer Blog

We all know mobile technology is revolutionizing our personal and professional lives. But it’s also transforming the field of medicine in new and exciting ways.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an advanced technology that collects and analyzes detailed images and 3D renderings of the body’s internal organs and structures without exposing patients and doctors to dangerous radiation as X-Rays do. The greater safety of MRI has made possible an exciting new field called Interventional Radiology, which involves a doctor actually working on a patient with a real-time view of the patient’s insides.

There is one catch, however: the incredibly powerful magnets used by MRI scanners make the use of regular metal-filled computers impossible. However, Dr. Andrew B. Holbrook, a Research Associate at Stanford University, realized that an HP TouchPad could, with some modifications, be made non-metallic enough to go where no computer has gone before: into the MRI chamber!

Read on to see how Dr. Holbrook worked with HP to modify webOS devices and build a system of smart devices to aid in pushing the envelope of Interventional Radiology.

We want to thank everybody for the overwhelming interest in the TouchPad Developer Device Purchase Program. We have completed issuing coupon codes for both the North America and EMEA regions. If you requested coupon codes but have not yet received an email, we apologize that we are unable to fulfill your request.

We thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing your applications in the webOS App Catalog!

We’re continuing to provide developers with more opportunities to distribute their apps. Here are some updates we’d like to share:

Paid apps for Australia and New Zealand App Catalogs
Building on the recent addition of HP webOS App Catalogs for Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong, we’re excited to announce that developers will be able to offer paid apps in the App Catalogs for Australia and New Zealand as well.

To make your paid app available in these countries, you will need to select the Australia and New Zealand App Catalogs and designate the price of your app in the My Apps tab. Read our help article for more details.

Submit TouchPad and smartphone apps in a single package
We have also implemented an update to our developer portal that lets you submit a smartphone app and TouchPad app as a single package to the App Catalog. Now developers can offer their apps across multiple webOS devices in a more seamless way. For more information, check out our help article.

“Meet the Team” is a series to help you get to know your webOS Developer Relations team. It’s a friendly and fun behind-the-scenes look at the people whose main mission is to serve and champion webOS developers everywhere.

This time, we chat with Jag Wood, Director of Evangelism, who talks about the mission of her growing team, what she hears from developers and a little bit of the lighter side at HP.

Q: First off, what’s your title and what does that really mean?

I joined the webOS team as the Director of Evangelism and Worldwide Developer Relations.  At a high level, my team has a dual role.  Externally – the Evangelists speak to the values, key features and benefits of developing on webOS and provide technical deep dives on the platform.  Internally – we become the voices for the developer communities around current and future product input.  We take what we see, hear and feel from our developers and bring that feedback in-house for all to hear.  The feedback is used in planning for future enhancements and updates to the platform.

Q: We’ve been building out the Developer Relations team and I know there are a lot of new faces on your team in particular. What are some things developers can expect as your team grows?

Our goals in their simplest forms are to have more direct contact and 1:1 interactions with our developers, help them see success on webOS and be their “voice” on ideas around evolving the platform in meaningful ways.  We’re here to support and grow our relationships with the developer community that will bring amazing content to webOS.

We’re always looking for great people to join the team, locally and abroad, so if anyone out there is interested, referrals are welcome!

Read more ‣

By now, you’re probably familiar with the series of webOS workshops and webOS CONNECT developer events we’ve been hosting around the world. They’ve been incredibly popular and we’ve had awesome turnout everywhere we’ve been. But lots of developers have been asking, “When are you headed to my city?” You asked for more events – and we’ve got them.

We’re hosting webOS workshops and webOS CONNECT events in the following cities. These events are free, but we encourage you to register now to secure your spot:

- September 7, 2011: Sydney, Australia
- September 12, 2011: Singapore
- September 15, 2011: Hong Kong
- October 4, 2011: Milan, Italy
- October 6, 2011: Madrid, Spain
- October 11, 2011: Beijing, China

As we mentioned in a previous post, we’re excited about expanding the HP webOS App Catalog to four new countries and we look forward to meeting developers there and the other cities we have scheduled in the coming months. We hope to see lots of you soon!

Register today

Around the webOS Developer Relations team, we often like to say that the developer is our customer. It drives what we do and constantly pushes us to keep asking, how can we improve the experience for every developer on our platform?

Investing in your success: Device discounts, support and marketing
Today, we’re excited to announce some significant updates to the HP webOS Developer Program, to provide even more of the resources you need to create, market and sell great apps in the webOS App Catalog.

These updates include:

- Larger discounts on devices, up to 60%
- Loaner device program
- Enhanced support
- Marketing asset kits
- HP co-marketing opportunities
- Access to market development funds

Simply put, we’re investing in developers that invest in webOS. We factor in the apps you develop, your development expertise and your desire to build a thriving business around webOS.

Read here to get all the details.

Announcing HP webOS Certified Developers Program
Another significant update is the addition of the HP webOS Certified Developers program. This program offers certification to developers that want to make their services available to other companies looking for webOS development expertise. Developers are certified around the quantity and quality of apps they have developed, as well as training they’ve completed and other relevant experience they bring to the table.

One of the biggest benefits of being a webOS Certified Developer is significant promotion and referrals from HP, opening up incredible opportunities that leverage you webOS expertise.  Other benefits include:

- Listing in the HP webOS Developer Center for third-party developers
- Dedicated highlight page on the HP webOS Developer Center
- Access to pre-production testing devices
- “webOS Certified developer” marketing assets
- Priority support access

Read here to learn more about the certified developer program.

Along with webOS Pivot, which takes app discovery to a new level and our commitment to offering free membership for all our programs, webOS provides developers with an experience and set of opportunities unmatched by any platform.

Today, you could say we’re literally turning the page, changing how people discover apps – and how we showcase developers behind those apps. We are thrilled to introduce HP webOS Pivot, a monthly supplement to the HP webOS App Catalog that brings app discovery to a new level.

What’s webOS Pivot all about?
We created webOS Pivot to tackle a fundamental issue all of us can relate to – in a world of thousands upon thousands of apps (and counting), how can you discover great apps that mean something to you, especially ones that don’t happen to be in a top 10 list?

webOS Pivot takes you on a journey, providing entertaining and interactive ways for people to learn about apps. It’s made for all kinds of personalities and lifestyles – at home, at the office and everywhere in between:

- Visually-driven editorials
- Engaging columns on digital culture by renowned writers
- Feature stories that weave apps into everyday life
- Balanced, in-depth app reviews
- Matching apps to different profiles of people

Simply put, webOS Pivot is a totally new way to find apps that complement you. And besides being a fun way to discover apps, webOS Pivot is a pleasure to read. It’s great content that’s a tap away on the TouchPad.

Showcasing apps and developers
We also wanted to offer a better way for developers to get their app in the spotlight. webOS Pivot offers developers unprecedented opportunities. Apps are presented in ways that are engaging and meaningful to readers. And as you would expect, people can download an app right from the article, as well as an index of all the apps we feature in every issue.

Our goal is to feature developers and apps of all kinds, and webOS Pivot provides so many interesting possibilities for us to do just that. If you have questions about how apps and developers can get featured in webOS Pivot, contact us at pivot@hp.com.

So if you haven’t yet, get started on the webOS 3.0 SDK that’s now available for public download. We want to fill webOS Pivot with all of your great apps.

Just the beginning…
Of course, this is only the beginning. We have big plans for webOS Pivot, and we think it’s going to change the game for customers and developers alike. Like webOS itself, webOS Pivot works like nothing else.

“Meet the Team” is a series to help you get to know your webOS Developer Relations team. It’s a friendly and fun behind-the-scenes look at the people whose main mission is to serve and champion webOS developers everywhere.

This time we chat with Peter Helm, one of the stars on our team that’s dedicated to making sure webOS developers get the personal support they need, from when they first join our program to submitting their first app and beyond.

Q: To start things off, describe your main mission on the Developer Relations team.

Most importantly I act as a contact point for developers who are looking for help with webOS development. Whether they need technical advice, access to devices, or help submitting their apps, my job is to give them whatever support they need. If I can’t help them directly, I do my best to route them to the right people on our Developer Relations team.

Q: You talk to developers every day. Considering everything going on with webOS, what are developers most excited about these days?

Obviously at this very moment they are most excited about developing apps for the TouchPad, but developers are already looking toward a greater webOS ecosystem – starting with webOS 3.0 – that will work across multiple devices. And that kind of planning and enthusiasm on behalf of the developer community gets me fired up about 3^rd party webOS development.

Read more ‣

Are you currently developing an HP TouchPad app with webOS 3.0? Could you use a little extra help from the webOS team and some time to test your app on TouchPad hardware?

We invite you to register for a webOS workshop, which we’ll be hosting at HP’s Palm campus in Sunnyvale, California on the following dates:

- July 21, Sunnyvale, CA
- August 5, Sunnyvale, CA

Led by members of the webOS development team, these workshops are designed to help you:

- Get expert guidance on webOS 3.0 development tools and UI/UX
- Test and optimize your apps with TouchPad hardware
- Work on apps and get direct help from the webOS team

We have a limited number of spots for each workshop, so register now to reserve your spot.

We recently introduced in-app purchases for webOS 3.0, giving developers an easy way to provide premium content to customers and new ways to monetize their apps.  In the first phase of our rollout, developers have been able to start creating and managing in-app purchase items, including item types, language settings and pricing.

For developers that have been busily creating in-app items – and adding a whole new dimension to their apps in the process – we’ve got great news. Now, developers can start submitting their in-app items for review, just in time for TouchPad’s big launch. For more information on in-app purchases, check out our help article.

So if you haven’t yet, get started on the webOS 3.0 SDK. It’s going to be fun to see what developers can do with webOS 3.0, the TouchPad and providing a new set of experiences for customers in their apps. Get to it!