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I don't want to go off topic, but... well everybody else has a bit!
As usual, we all discuss what went wrong and suggest possibilities to rectify the situation, but few of us have any real power.
Firstly, the simple question of the OP has been answered many times over on this thread: The market is never too full for a quality product.
That doesn't mean webOS is going to succeed.
Derek Kessler's recent CES video seems to say it all - nothing appears to be happening. Even the rumours from gram seem... uninspiring. I imagine a bunch of people are tinkering somewhere, but to what end? I'm not saying a plan will result in success, but as they say, failure to plan...
I think there must be a plan somewhere - wouldn't it be great if the outline of it appeared in a gram press release?
It is not impossible to target a niche with a realistic and small scale business plan and end up making some profit. From that foot hold, growth is possible for a quality product, but realistically, a large amount of capital will be needed even for that. Who is going to do it? There is also the Linux type path where enthusiasts tinker for years until the project gets picked up by those who can monetise it, but is a mobile OS like a desktop/server OS? I think mobile specs are more varied than the PC spec. Perhaps when the mobile is genuinely a portable computer with peripherals for different contexts (this is I think is the Ubuntu plan) i.e it's your mobile/desktop/media centre core device. In this instance, the OS would have to adapt the UI to the context. Maybe this will never happen because dedicated, small, networked boxes are the answer or a home server with largely dumb terminals.
Anyhow, there needs to be a plan in order for webOS to succeed. It seems to me the list of possible planners looks like this:
1. HP/Palm
2. Gram (assuming they will be seperate)
3. WebOSInternals / Ports
4. Phoenix devices
5. Other independent webOS developers
From the comments above, it seems that HP are doing nothing - a shame as they are probably the only ones with any money!
Gram is either waiting on the HB community to get OWOS into shape (and possibly helping the effort) with a view to being to webOS what Redhat was/is to Linux - professional release with support.... or they're doing not much.
webOS_Internals is maintaining and patching the legacy code, ports is slowly putting OWOS onto a Galaxy Nexus.
Phoenix is... was it webOS as android app?
Other developers I mentioned as a possibility and I know there are other projects happening.
However, as far as I can tell (and I guess all the webOS news that is fit to print appears on this site eventually), there is no realistic plan to get webOS out there on a webOS phone. If any of the players listed have such a plan, here is no hint of it and not much indication that they are even talking to each other.
Blame, as ever, will fall at the door of HP, but if it is the case that they have kindly open-sourced webOS & washed their hands of it, the eye moves to Gram who have some funding. The rest are volunteers and it's unfair to ask or expect anything of them.
Gram may not have 'build a phone' money, but they have a paid staff and one product: OpenwebOS. OpenwebOS had a roadmap. Maybe a new one is due. It might omit commercially sensitive information, but would be a way to energise the community.
A promise of a commercial product for phone or tablet (both?), a plan for a working port, a reference hardware spec, a hope of manufacture (with a partner or subcontractor...?) That's a rough plan. Timings may be vague, but those in the community who can, might then ask, "where can I help?". Users might make buying decisions based on webOS compatability.
Well, it's just my opinion. I think someone (and gram is the obvious candidate) should be the 'Torvalds' of webOS and give the world the idea that it isn't dead yet.
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Originally Posted by rnld
