If 3D gaming really is the future, then Palm's decision to embrace it could serve it well in the months to come.

Following the announcement at the start of 2010 that its Palm Development Kit – which launched in beta form in March – would support 3D and OpenGL apps, Palm has now confirmed the new kit is out of beta and ready for action.

What's more, the submission process has also kicked off, with Palm encouraging developers to get their apps on board before webOS 1.4.5 – which has been designed to accommodate apps created using the PDK – rolls out to consumers via carriers.

From SDK to PDK

"To consolidate installation of webOS tools, we’ve now combined the SDK and PDK into a single installation package," says Fred Patton, editor-in-chief of Palm's developer portal, on the firm's blog.

"It doesn't matter whether you download from the SDK page or the PDK page, you’ll get the same package. For SDK developers who don’t want to install the PDK, you can just de-select the 'PDK' option during the installation."

Developers will need to completely uninstall any existing SDK or PDK installations before installing the new package however.

To mark the PDK's launch, Palm is also running a new Hot Apps competition, rewarding the developers of the most-installed free and highest-revenue paid apps respectively between July 15 and September 30 each with a cash prize of $100,000.

Apps looking to be ranked from day 1 of the competition's start need to be submitted to Palm by July 7.

[source: Palm]