Developers will make or break any of the next generation mobile operating systems. Sure these “open” systems that allow access to third party applications are great, but if developers don’t rally around your platform and start creating unique offerings available on the devices, you’re stuck with a big problem. A problem that webOS won’t have if early developer chatter is any indication.

In an article on NetworkWorld.com, several developers instrumental in the most popular apps for the iPhone and Android voiced their opinions on webOS with a resoundingly positive experience. Christian Sepulveda fromPivotal Labs said, “It’s a completely new way of thinking about an OS on mobile devices.” Tom Conrad, the CTO of Pandora said, “Everything about the Pre feels like it’s future oriented, not an iPhone-inspired knockoff.” And the complements and impressed comments continue.

The logistics in how webOS applications “run” was initially cause for concern, with some noting that the need to run within the framework of a browser would cause performance problems and others saying they aren’t applications at all. However, those with access to the early look Mojo SDK have had these problems answered as noted by Mr. Conrad, “I think everyone’s [performance] concerns are going to be answered. It feels just like using a set of native [compiled] applications, from a performance or any other standpoint.”

But webOS doesn’t just address concerns, it goes above and beyond what many had hoped for drawing comments like:

• “You can’t do these kinds of things on most mobile platforms”
• “You can now write applications that are more complex”
• “”the way Palm has approached multitasking is very smart”
• “The barriers for entry for developing on Mojo are very low”

I think that last bullet is of especial interest. How is webOS different from iPhone or Android? A paragraph near the beginning of the NetworkWorld article beautifully sums up the components of webOS that truly makes it unique in the mobile OS world… and will inevitably (we think) make it shine:

“The potential power of webOS lies in three capabilities that Palm has brought together into a coherent whole. First, mobile applications are written entirely in JavaScript, HTML and Cascading Style Sheets, which are technologies that an army of Web developers has been using for years. Second, webOS was designed from the outset to run multiple applications at once and, these developers say, to minimize the well-known potential problems that arise when doing so. Third, the application model is designed in turn to fully exploit both these features, creating, these developers say, a simpler, far more intuitive user experience.”

Another important word… “potential power”. And to unlock that potential you need developer support so they can forge ahead in creating mobile solutions, software, applications, games, entertainment and other unique offerings that consumers want. It appears that this potential power will soon be realized.

[Via NetworkWorld]