The intervention by Lodsys means 'in-app purchase' is something of a dirty phrase right now, but that hasn't stopped HP announcing that webOS 3.0 on TouchPad will support the model from launch.

Via a post on on its official developer blog, the company claims it is keen to ensure studios looking to support its forthcoming tablet are free to monetise their titles as they see fit.

IAP happy

The tools to integrate IAPs will shortly be delivered in an SDK, but HP is encouraging developers to "get started" right now, creating the virtual items they intend to sell upon release before they actually employ the code.

"Starting now, we’re opening the doors, so to speak, allowing developers to submit their TouchPad apps to the HP webOS App Catalog," says marketing manager Sean Lindo.

"Today, if you have a registered developer account, you can log in and start creating items. The next Early Access release of the SDK will include documentation on adding in-app purchase code to your apps.

"Then, in a couple of weeks, we plan on allowing developers to formally submit in-app items for review."

Keeping up with the competition

IAPs are an important addition for HP, which is looking to attract as many developers as it can to TouchPad as it aims to serve up some genuine competition for iPad.

As such, the company has confirmed it will offer developers a 70/30 revenue split on all IAPs, putting it in line with most of the market.

However, HP is also trying to avoid alienating existing webOS developers. The majority with titles developed with Mojo or the Palm Development Kit (PDK) should run on TouchPad with little fuss.

"First, we’ll automatically promote all Mojo apps to be available to TouchPad users in the App Catalog," adds Lindo.

"These apps will run in 'Mojo compatibility mode', a window sized for the app’s original resolution, which provides a software keyboard and onscreen gesture area.

"Similarly, many current PDK apps have been tested and will be promoted to be available to TouchPad users in the App Catalog. These apps run in a 'PDK portability mode', which emulates their native environment and scales their graphics to run full-screen on the TouchPad."

The old guard

Lindo does note, however, that PDK apps that make use of gesture based inputs (employed on Palm smartphones) or an on screen keyboard won't be promoted to TouchPad users on App Catalog.

Developers that fall into this category will instead be contacted by Palm's app review team as to how to move forward.

Lindo concludes: "While we're making it as easy as we can for customers to access great Mojo and PDK apps on the TouchPad, we want developers to get started on webOS 3.0 and create great apps for the TouchPad from the ground up."

[source: HP]