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Palm Pre Smartphone

Palm said Tuesday developers can begin submitting applications to be sold in the smartphone maker's App Catalog, which competes with Apple's App Store.

Palm's Pre smartphone has been well-received so far, but one of the main criticisms has been the relative lack of programs in its App Catalog, especially compared to the more than 65,000 apps in Apple's virtual store. The company plans to roll out paid programs in mid-September, and Palm appears to be trying to woo developers by offering developers more creative opportunities than Apple does.

Apple has faced some criticism over its vetting process for apps, and companies such as Opera Software cannot release its browser because Apple doesn't allow programs that duplicate existing iPhone functionality in its store. Palm's guidelines mainly focus on app performance, user interface, and power consumption.

Palm developers will receive 70% of the revenues generated from any sold app, which is the same percentage iPhone developers receive. Palm users will be able to buy these programs with credit cards, and apps will be downloaded over the air.

"We want every part of the Palm webOS experience to be the best, and a strong e-commerce model is key to a thriving developer community, great apps and an excellent customer experience," said Katie Mitic, Palm's senior VP of product marketing, in a statement.

The company will be facing some challenges in trying to attract developers away from Apple though, as there are more than 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch users compared to less than a million Pre owners. Palm's developers will only be able to charge a one-time fee at the time of download, while Apple's 3.0 software opens up various business models because it enables in-app purchasing.

Additionally, the iPhone software development kit enables developers to create robust games with 3D graphics, which won't be possible in the 1.0 version of webOS.

But Palm's platform has received positive reviews, and the company is expected to release more webOS devices on multiple U.S. carriers. Palm also built its mobile operating system on standard Web coding such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which could make it easier for content creators to make mobile apps.

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