Tizen, webOS, & the Future of Mobile Open Source

jfruhlinger writes "When HP announced it would release webOS as open source, it added a competitor to a narrow niche: there's already Tizen, the descendant of MeeGo, which is, like webOS, an open source Linux-based operating system for smartphones. Can they co-exist, or will one come out on top? One built-in advantage for webOS is that already has hardware, in the form of all those $99 TouchPad's being snapped up on eBay."

Lots of potential here

[na1led]

I think there is a lot of potential for developers to make money and make WebOS into something much better. You already have over a million people with Touchpads plus all those Webos Phones. There work in progress to run Android Apps inside WebOS, and if some can port Netflix and Hulu over then I'm sure it will be a winner.

Want open hardware, GNU/Linux

[GameboyRMH]

When Il bought my N900 I had a choice between WebOS, Android and Maemo (predecessor of MeeGo/Tizen). I chose Maemo because it was real GNU/Linux, not some Java/JS-based OS with the warm fuzziness of a Linux-based kernel like the other two. Also the hardware was fully open, no rooting or bootloader cracking required. Wake me up when I can get something new like that, with a hardware keyboard.

WebOS is ahead

[Tester]

1. I'm not convinced at all that HP is giving up on WebOS, if they had wanted to get rid of it, they could have sold it for a lot of money. There are many interested buyers.

2. WebOS has a huge advantage, it already exists. Tizen doesn't. Intel had announced that they would announce the architecture at Linuxcon Europe, but they had nothing to show. Rumour is that they're still in negotiation with Samsung.. And doing this kind of work in a joint venture is always a terrible idea as there is no clear direction. On the other hand, WebOS exists, works and is on devices already. And it seems HP is still investing in it. Also WebOS has applications, Tizen doesn't, it doesn't even have any defined APIs, no one knows what will be in it, etc.

Re:Want open hardware, GNU/Linux

[IANAAC]

I had an N800 for a long time and I miss it. I used to think that it was Maemo that was what made it so special because I thought everything was logically laid out, but I'm not so sure. It may just have been that that is what I got used to.

I think it was the solid hardware, more than anything. Even with a now passé resistive screen, everything was super smooth and I very rarely used a stylus. I have a cheap knock-off Android tablet now, and it's really not a smooth experience. The hardware is definitely not as well made, from the loose AC plug to the crappy speakers. Headphones are good though. Screen responsiveness downright sucks.

If I could find a way to install or at least run Maemo from an SD card on my current tablet, I'd try it to see if I still felt the same way about the OS.

If Intel/Samsung are smart

[UpnAtom]

... they'll adopt WebOS, stick it on top of Meego, include the Qt stuff to keep existing, highly productive Maemo developers on board and have themselves a cheap, vastly superior alternative to Android & iOS.

Re:Abandonware open source

[Junta]

It's really small details that make a big difference to me. A coherent, unified messaging app (simple trick of using libpurple, mostly). The ability to sanely manage multiple text conversations at once ('cards' compromising between full fledged desktop metaphor and mobile form factor). Architecture that prioritized keeping running apps running instead of arbitrary kills on 'background' applications. Architecture that didn't encourage every task switch to induce piss-poor home-written state restores (why is it when I switch to a browser, my SMS conversation closes when I switch back???).