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It’s official, dear Reader!

OpenWebOS now LuneOS for Mobile according to the LG Electronics Team working on developing the Platform to be the brains behind their Smart TV’s and possibly Mobile devices.

LuneOS

WebOS had gotten a new owner in the form of South Korea based LG Electronics who had decided to develop a line of Smart TV and an ecosystem of connected Gadgets via the Internet of Things as described in The Internet of Things – Our AI’s State of Connectedness after purchasing the licenses for on Open Source WebOS Platform from Palm in February 2014, at the time owned by HP.WebOS, that plucky Operating System that got no love right before HP (Hewlett Packard) killed off their PC and Tablet business on Sunday August 21st 2011 as I’d reported in WebOS powered HP TouchPad for US$99 – HP exits PC business in Apple’s Post-PC era, is back on Mobile!

A surprise to some but not to me! I’ve been following LG Electronics ever since October 2013 when they said WebOS would be a great Platform to build Smart TV and other connected Home Appliances. The Deal with LG Electronics gave them the following:

  1. SourceCode
  2. Documentation
  3. Websites
  4. Employees of the Division responsible for building and maintaining WebOS

It is those employees who are the Developer Team working with LG Electronics who have decided on the name change. The original name “WebOS Ports Open webOS” was proving a little too verbose. But this is more than just a name change, as I’ll explain.

LG Electronics LuneOS – Equivalent of Samsung Tizen OS but sans the World Domination

Please note, this is NOT just a name change; it’s still Open Source as the LG Electronics team is still looking for Developer partners to work with them on making LuneOS more portable, to quote their announcement: “We have a lot of parts on the service side in place but the app UIs need a lot of work from creative people. If you like webOS, know how develop on the web and enjoy working with an enthusiastic team on a new community built mobile operating system, don’t hesitate to contact us through the available communication channels”.

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Yep you read that right. A new Mobile OS is being born right before your very eyes. It’s like a new Star being born in a Nebula acting as a gaseous Stellar nursery, bringing it forth to life as it shines bright for all the Developer Community to see and gaze upon its beauty in wonder and amazement.

So LG Electronics isn’t just working on a new OS for their line of Smart TV. They’re also working on a Mobile phone Operating System. Already the first build of the LuneOS  dubbed “Affogato” is stable and can even be ported to the Google Nexus 4, HP TouchPad, Galaxy Nexus and 2012 Nexus 7.

This project might end up being a new OS that anyone can load up onto their flagship LG Optimus smartphones as a replacement for Android, though according to the LG Electronics Developer Team, that’s not their sole aim, quote: “Our main focus is not to add new devices as they appear on the market but instead to provide a stable, easy to use and easy to port software base”.

This is basically LG Electronics equivalent of Samsung’s venture into making their own Mobile OS, Tizen OS, which has so far failed to capture the hearts of the Russians since Sunday July 6th 2014 as I’d chronicled in Samsung Z running Tizen OS fails to enter Russian Market hints at Caribbean and Latin American Launch.

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So expect new LG smartphone line and an App Store anytime soon. Wait, a few details first, people!

LG Electronics LuneOS – App Store and Devices from Developers to commercialize the Project

So the next thing they’re bound to develop is an App Store and some devices.

Despite their claim of not planning to launch LuneOS on new devices, only the very experimental and Developers will want to try this out on their own and risk bricking their Smartphone or Tablets. It this makes sense that an introductory devices may be coming soon, most likely capable of playing apps side-loaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple iTunes Store, being as portability is their thing.

LG Electronics will probably first show off LuneOS on Smart TV, which will undoubtedly have an App Store.  Inviting more Developers to work on LuneOS may mean not only making it more portable to more Smartphones but also making an App Store. Once they see it in action on a Smart TV, Developer will quickly want to develop for the smartphone, which can act as a remote control for the Smart TV.

So I expect eventually to hear word of LG Electronics coming out with Tablets and Devices running LuneOS sometime before Christmas or by January 2014. After all, like the Moon, the LuneOS also rises, but on Smart TV’s and smartphones!

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