SplashData CEO Shares His Thoughts on the webOS

SplashData made Palm OS applications for many years, and lately has been turning its efforts to creating software for Palm's new webOS. Morgan Slain, the company's CEO, talked with Brighthand about this new operating system.

BH: What's your general impression of Palm's new platform?

We're excited about the potential of webOS.  The Pre is an impressive first effort for a new platform, and we'd like to see Palm succeed. 

BH: After years of developing for the Palm OS, was it easy to change to the webOS? 

WebOS is an elegantly designed platform, although since it's completely different from Palm OS it has required building some new skills on our team.  And it's always a challenge to design for a platform that was still in development as we were writing code. 

We've been working closely with Palm for several months on the webOS versions of SplashID, Infopedia, and mCraig, and we've been pleased and impressed with their investment in working with developers. 

BH: A wide variety of software is going to be critical for the success of the Palm Pre. Do you think lots of developers are going to be making webOS software?

All in all, we see a lot of enthusiasm for webOS in the development community, particularly among those developers who have been supporting Palm for years.  If Palm can quickly launch a successful app store where developers see a clear path to earning revenue, the number of applications available for webOS should grow dramatically.

About SplashData
Founded in 2000 and based in Silicon Valley, California, SplashData creates productivity software for a variety of mobile operating systems: BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm OS, Symbian, and Windows Mobile.

Its applications for the Palm Pre and webOS are still in development.

• Palm Pre Review
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Palm Synergy
• The Missing Sync for the Palm Pre Now Out in Beta Form