In an effort to encourage an Android (News - Alert)-like response to webOS, Hewlett-Packard released additional pieces of the newly-open mobile platform on Tuesday, fulfilling its earlier promise to developers. HP said last month that it would release more code every month through September when version 1.0 is scheduled to be released.

HP unloaded a few major components of webOS, highlighted by the UI widgets for the Enyo 2.0 development environment, the platform's JavaScript core and its new browser, Isis.

Enyo 2.0 is an open source tool that enables developers to write applications that work across different webOS form factors as well as a number of other operating systems and browsers.

But the real headline-maker is Isis, a standalone browser that doubles as the rendering technology for the platform and its apps. Isis is powered by QtWebKit, originally open sourced by Nokia (News - Alert), and is being highly touted by HP as being the next big thing in mobile browsing.

The company said in a blog post that Isis is “extremely responsive” when compared to other browsers made for general consumption, and sports a lightning-fast render pipeline and JavaScript execution profile. The browser also offers support for HTML5, CSS3 and, surprisingly, Adobe (News - Alert) Flash. The decision to provide support for Flash will raise an eyebrow or two considering Adobe recently announced that it will no longer invest in its Flash Player for mobile devices.

The goal for Isis is clearly to make it as open as possible to encourage developers to deploy the browser on non-webOS mobile devices and other form factors.

“With the power of the components released today, a developer can create an immersive user environment that can be built on any web platform,” HP noted in the blog post. “This is another step in fulfilling the promise of Open webOS.”

HP's mobile platform has been on one heck of a ride over the last few years. Originally picked up in the $1.8 billion Palm acquisition, webOS failed to deliver for either company. In fact, webOS is known mostly for powering HP's notorious TouchPad tablet, which failed so miserably HP was forced to knock the price down to $99 and cease all future development.

We will have to wait and see if outside developers can take the reins and help reinvent webOS as an open source platform. 

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell