Palm Challenges Apple, Courts E-Commerce Developers

"This is an opportunity for you to submit your app and to market it to the webOS user base before we open the program to all developers later in the year," the company said in a blog.

Palm said it will cut developers 70 percent of revenue generated through sales on its Pre model after they have been approved for the e-commerce beta program, the same amount other app developer programs offer. Developers can charge a one-time fee for app downloads at a minimum of 99 cents or they can be free of charge.

Under terms of the app program's requirements, webOS users can pay for their application purchases using credit cards and will download apps directly to their webOS device.

Hoping to lure developers and customers with the launch, Palm is going up against Apple's wildly popular app program. Google Android, Nokia, BlackBerry, LG and Verizon all offer developer portals, but Apple remains king. In June 2009, Apple reported that 1.5 billion apps were downloaded to the iPhone and iPod in the program's inaugural year.