WebOS Developers in Demand Along With $99 HP TouchPad

While the HP TouchPad is basking in the excess demand for it with its new price drop to $99, the developers who made apps for the HP tablet and WebOS are being eyed as well.

Microsoft, which is about to release the Mango upgrade to Windows Phone 7, is hoping to get the WebOS developers to make apps for Windows Phone 7, a weapon to compete with the rulers in the smartphone market — Apple and Android.

When it comes to apps, Windows Phone 7 is lagging way behind iOS which has around 500,000 apps and Android which has about 200,000 apps.

Brandson Watson, Microsoft’s senior director of WP7 development, launched a campaign via Twitter, saying, To Any Published WebOS Devs: We'll give you what you need to be successful on #WindowsPhone, incl. free phones, dev tools, and training, etc.

Watson said, he has received over 500 enquiries before the day got over, and was connecting interested developers to a “Windows Phone 7 champion” within his team.

We have love for all developers. #webOS guys had a bit of a rough week though, so we're looking out for them, Watson re-tweeted.

Even though the WebOS hardware is killed, Jon Zilber, an HP spokesperson wrote in the company blog, “HP has made these tough decisions to ensure that our efforts with webOS remain tightly focused. Far from burying webOS, our goal is to ensure the platform's evolution as a robust operating system for an increasingly mobile and connected world.”

Several hackers groups are eyeing the new Touchdroid project on RootzWiki, to create an Android version for the TouchPad.