Mobile Platforms and Apps
September 11th, 2009, 1:40pm by Mike
Every once in a while we have a discussion on Twitter (or in person, even!) about Apple and Palm and the different ways they’re handling their mobile app stores. It’s interesting.
Basically, Apple’s model and Palm’s models are the same: centralized distribution with Apple/Palm deciding who’s in and who’s out. Apps can theoretically be rejected for any reason, as I understand it. Apple has famously rejected apps for legitimate, illegitimate, and unknown reasons, and yesterday, Palm demonstrated that they will also be rejecting apps from their store. Since Palm is new to the game, it’s not clear where they’ll draw their line, but it’s already apparent that they’ll be much more lenient in their approval process than Apple has been (as well as much more communicative as to why rejections happen).
Where it gets interesting to me is in the sideloading of apps — that is, loading apps through means other than the officially sanctioned methods. On the iPhone, this requires jailbreaking — modifying the OS, violating Apple’s license agreement. Apple tries as hard as they can to keep this from happening, from specific modifications during software updates to overt scare tactics.
On webOS, it’s a little different. Though section 4 of the webOS SDK terms of service specifically disallows distribution of apps through non-Palm app catalogs, Palm seems to have decided not to enforce this, and is allowing distribution of non-Palm signed apps through homebrew sites. (As a side note, the developer of the webOS Quick Install program acknowledges that this distribution method is only for apps being tested by their developers, as stated in the ToS, not as a wide distribution method, to cover his butt). Point is, Palm isn’t enforcing this provision, and has said as much publicly in their explanation of their recent app rejection (in which they acknowledged that they’re happy to have an app using undocumented APIs present in the homebrew community — no way that can be construed as a “test environment.”). Nonetheless, it seems clear to me that Palm did not initially intend for apps to be sideloaded onto the phone (i.e., they didn’t create a loophole specifically for this purpose), but they didn’t make it hard to do, and they have done nothing to prevent it in subsequent webOS updates. Taking all this together, Palm has definitely implicitly endorsed the whole homebrew community.
So, what’s interesting to me is that it seems that both companies started at the same place, but along the way, made different decisions as to how they wanted to treat their developers. Apple has decided to be hostile and obfuscate their decision-making process, while Palm has remained officially closed while allowing development of non-endorsed apps to continue unhindered. Their more liberal attitude is likely to attract developers, particularly those who feel shunned by Apple. More developers = more apps, which is great for Palm.
Are there any risks, or unknowns, for Palm doing this? Sure, but I don’t know that they’re that big a deal in the long run:
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It’ll suck for Palm if some homebrew app ends up erasing (or transmitting) user information, or worse — I suppose Palm will have plausible deniability, but they’ll still have to manage the inevitable “webOS virus” story. But this is the world we all live in on our computers, and most of us do OK. In an extreme case, it’s not beyond conception that Palm could close the homebrew opening, since they appear to have never officially stated that they are committed to it.
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They’re in a bit of a Catch-22, in which they need developers to make awesome apps to sell the phone, but they can’t market the phone based on non-official, unendorsed apps. This may not be an issue as soon as the doors to the Palm app store are wide open, and these homebrew apps become official.
My feeling is that Palm has landed on what, right now, is the optimal “2-state” solution. If you want code-checked, non-objectionable content, head over to the official webOS app catalog. If you’re comfortable taking responsibility yourself, there’s an avenue for you to put on unofficial software. I really don’t think they initially intended to be here, but because of their quick reasoning and aggressive marketing they took the opportunity to capitalize on Apple’s clear missteps in this area.
I’m hopeful that Palm will be successful, because I’d love for the market to push Apple in this direction.
September 11th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Yes, it’s an interesting discussion indeed. Are you aware of how Google approaches the issue of sideloading? I know that their Android Marketplace is supposed to be fully automated, where the stability of apps is checked, but they are not screened by any human being for other issues. That to me, seems like the worst of both worlds. You get a whole lot of crap in a store that appears to the consumer to be endorsed by the powers that be.
I suspect that Palm wants to recreate the grass-roots developer community of the original Palm OS, but knows that having an official app store is an important selling point. Windows Mobile is in the same boat– completely open to third party developers, but is now launching a branded store that will offer best-of-breed apps that you already can get elsewhere.
On a personal note, the ease with which we can sideload apps to webOS really makes it enticing to learn to program so we can install our own custom apps :). Any ideas?
September 11th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
No idea how Android, WinMob, or Blackberry are handling this (guess I’d need some friends who have those phones and are into downloading apps). Is what you object to about that method the appearance of endorsement? That sucks for people who don’t understand — but for those that do (like you), this seems like a pretty good solution. Not only do you have the most minimal assurance that the app won’t break your phone, but you also have the one-stop convenience factor.
As for webOS programming — it’s designed to be easy for web programmers. I’d say the first step is to figure out some HTML, CSS, and javascript! At this point, I don’t think I could even make a web page that could do anything remotely interesting.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I’m not sure I was really objecting to anything, except that if you are going to have an official store at all, it should be curated, which is what Google is not doing in the name of openness. IMO, openness is already served if you allow sideloading. So my take is that the system that benefits consumers the most is to do both, which is what Windows Mobile is planning and what I hope Palm is doing. Of course, what will probably happen is that the Official Palm Catalog will be the kingmaker in that if you don’t get into the Catalog, you might as well not exist, so it will effectively end up like the iPhone store, anyway, except with an more friendly test environment for developers.