In a move to cement its relationship with its 175,000 registered developers, Palm Inc. Tuesday unveiled new developer programs.
Specifically, the company now is offering a two-level developer program, a certification exam and online training for developers. The revised Palm OS Developer Program now offers what the company calls an “Advantage” level of membership. Those who join the new level will receive direct technical support from Palm, a quarterly CD with the latest development tools and marketing help from the company.
The company said it also will accept candidates for the Palm Powered Certified Developer Program. Those accepted for certification in the program must pass a written exam. In addition, online courses for developers are now available via e-learning vendor DigitalThink, Palm said.
Among the initial courses will be an introduction to the Palm OS platform for developers and a course titled “IT Essentials for Palm Powered Handhelds.”
Solidifying its extensive base of developers is essential for Palm in light of the recent onslaught by Microsoft’s Pocket PC handheld platform. That platform has been gaining significant market share on the Palm platform in the last year.