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The Palm Pre's new operating system, Linux-based webOS, has attracted as much attention as the phone itself, but the software developers' kit (SDK) will not be available until late summer, limiting the potential to create an Apple-style impact on applications while the handset remains under the Sprint exclusive.

webOS is Linux-based and touts its developer friendliness, running all its apps through the browser. So it supports standard coding methods like HTML, CSS and Javascript, and will get Adobe Flash Player 10 at the same time as other major smartphones in October. However, developers still need to get their hands on the SDK if they want to create official apps that can be housed in the Palm software store, and can fully harness the features of the phone - as Palm will need to expose key APIs.

"We've been working very hard on the SDK and are eager to open access on a wider scale, but the software and the developer services to support it just aren't ready yet," Palm wrote on its developer blog, prompting howls of frustration from would-be programmers, especially those who were based around the old PalmOS, which will be phased out. Palm would be no more specific about its SDK release date than "by the end of summer", which does not instil confidence, given the apparent flexibility of the firm's calendar when it was tantalizing the market over shipment dates for the Pre.

Palm is on the horns of the usual smartphone dilemma - build developer support early and risk problems, or create strongly tested tools and a true ecosystem upfront. The company has gone for the latter approach, probably with its enterprise heartland in mind. But developers are threatening to bypass the official approach in order to take advantage of the early momentum behind the Pre, says Information Week. "With the SDK, even an immature one, we would be developing within Palm's desired process and with their technology stack. Without the SDK, we will roam around the phone at the OS level and start doing whatever we want," wrote one developer on the blog.

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