Free Palm Distribution

Palm have just announced that they will be scrapping the $50 distribution charge for putting apps up on their app store. This is great news for anyone who's already developing for the platform but especially for those people out there who want to get into the area of mobile development. That 50 bucks was the last fee standing between developers starting out making Palm apps and actually getting those apps out there in the marketplace which now makes it, yes, you've guessed it, absolutely free to design and sell your mobile apps to the buying public. On top of that anyone who has payed to have an app released on the store will have their money refunded to them no fuss.

It was possible previously to distribute apps free through certain channels such as on the web, the beta app channel or through the app catalogue if your app is open-source. Great if you just want to build up a profile as a developer or just hone your development skills but if your trying to make a bit of money out of mobile development then the app catalogue is where it's at as it accounts for about 95% of the market for Palm apps. If you want to make a living off selling your apps then this is really the kind of exposure you should be aiming for.

I wasn't 100 percent opposed to Palm's decision to charge the $50 fee as they had some valid reasons, namely to prevent a flood of low standard apps into the marketplace (the games industry nearly died a death back in the 80s due to the release of too many crappy games). I don't know if Palm were afraid that there weren't enough people developing for the platform to keep it competitive or if they decided that the quality of the free apps being distributed warranted giving the open-source developers a shot at developing paid apps charge free, but I for one think that this is a good thing. It opens the door for talented developers who may have been put off by the pricing to distribute their apps and could produce some more healthy competition which would drive the platform forward at a faster pace and really get the most out of it just like any other open-source project.