PreCentral: Phoenix looking to rise from the ashes of webOS

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We've said it many times over the past six months since HP announced their intentions to open source webOS: open source is not a plan. Once the software is out there… then what? It's a question we've been asking for a while, and we've been hearing you ask the same one. HP CEO Meg Whitman said that they'll eventually make new webOS tablets, but we haven't heard anything since, and it doesn't seem like webOS is really a big priority for HP.

So what's an enterprising webOS fan to do? Take matters into their own hands, that's what. That's part of the beauty of open source: once it's out there, anybody can do whatever they want with the code. So a group of webOS fans - developers, designers, and engineers - formed a group they've named Phoenix International Communications.

The goals of Phoenix are both simple and attainable while also complex and ambitious. Unlike some of the other noise that's been made recently about webOS devices, Phoenix is taking a slow-and-steady approach and focusing initially on porting Open webOS (once it's out in full in August) to existing devices - not just webOS devices, we would assume. And they're not just going to take Open webOS and throw it onto other devices, as anybody with minimal skill could figure that out, no, Phoenix wants to improve upon webOS with new features and fixes. Long term, the folks at Phoenix hope to be able to bring new webOS-specific devices to market, but that's a ways off and dependent upon things like money. We've talked with Phoenix about their plans, and while there's plenty that they can't share at this point, we're confident that they're being realistic and optimistic about their goals here.

Right now Phoenix consists of a small team, but they're looking to expand. Developers and engineers might be able to make devices work, but in the end they still need designers, marketers, accountants, sales representatives, and the like to actually get their work out to the public. You could say that Phoenix is hiring, but in reality their hope for expansion at this point rests on volunteers. And what better place to pick up a few genius collaborators than webOS Nation? If you're finding yourself interested in pitching in for the Phoenix webOS effort, hit up the source link below.

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