HP webOS Developer Blog

When we announced the addition of in-app purchase to webOS 3.0, we gave developers a new avenue for monetizing apps, as well as providing more compelling experiences for users. With our latest update, developers have additional flexibility to manage in-app purchase items.

Now, you can make an item available for a limited time only, or suspend and reactivate an item whenever you’d like. You can also disable auto-publishing for in-app items you’ve submitted for review, giving you control over when you’d like to release a given item.

You also have more control over the stub apps you use to start creating your in-app purchases. You can update the version, name, and package ID as needed to support your development efforts.

To get the complete details on using in-app purchase, 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 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.

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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!

We’re getting the word out on webOS to developers far and wide. There is a lot of excitement around webOS, especially around webOS 3.0 and new devices like the HP TouchPad. Following some great events in London, Paris and Berlin, we’d like you to join us and register for webOS CONNECT Toronto.

webOS CONNECT Toronto, Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Time: 6:00-10:00 PM
Place: Spoke Club, Gallery Room, 600 King Street West, 4^th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada

Join us for a fun evening where you’ll get to:

- Meet Richard Kerris, VP of Worldwide webOS Developer Relations and others from the webOS team
- Learn from featured talks by webOS developers
- Network with the community over some good food and fun

We look forward to seeing you there!

Register now

When we introduced the HP TouchPad earlier this year, we wanted everyone to “think big.” Today, we’ve got some big updates to share.

Start submitting your TouchPad apps today
Ever since we released the webOS 3.0 SDK in our Early Access program, we’ve had a tremendous response from developers who have eagerly started creating apps for the first webOS tablet. Starting now, we’re opening the doors, so to speak, allowing developers to submit their TouchPad apps to the HP webOS App Catalog.

When you log in to your account, the My Apps tab now allows you to specify that your app is compatible with the TouchPad and select webOS 3.0 as the minimum OS required. Check out our help article for more details, as well as our recommendations for naming your app.

In-app purchase debuts
We’re also incredibly excited to announce that in-app purchases are coming to webOS 3.0, and developers can get started with it today. This is a big addition to the webOS platform, giving developers the ability to:

- Provide customers with in-app access to premium features and compelling content
- Leverage new opportunities to monetize their apps
- Receive payments for user-purchased content easily and securely

We’re rolling out in-app purchase in a few stages. Today, if you have a registered Developer Account, you can log in and start creating items. The next Early Access release of the SDK will include documentation on adding in-app purchase code to your apps. Then, in a couple of weeks, we plan on allowing developers to formally submit in-app items for review.  You can reference our help article for additional details.

We can’t wait – along with customers – to see what developers can do with in-app purchases.

Note about current Mojo-based and PDK apps on TouchPad
Besides all the great apps specifically made for TouchPad, we’re making it easy for TouchPad users to enjoy thousands of existing webOS apps. First, we’ll automatically promote all Mojo apps to be available to TouchPad users in the App Catalog. These apps will run in “Mojo compatibility mode,” a window sized for the app’s original resolution, which provides a software keyboard and onscreen gesture area. We recommend testing your Mojo apps to make sure they work well in compatibility mode.

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