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Hewlett Packard announced last week that webOS was going open source. The mobile operating system was initially developed by Palm and introduced in January 2009.

Developers have been attracted to the platform because it uses standard web technologies and offers multiplatform compatibility (thanks to its single integrated stack). By engaging the open source community, HP hopes to accelerate development of the platform, and provide some necessary governance to avoid fragmentation of the operating system.

“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

HP also announced that it will contribute ENYO, the application framework for webOS, to the open source community in the future.