Details about Palm webOS 2.0 are beginning to emerge. On Tuesday, a software development kit and application programming interfaces were released to developers with some of the new features. The final 2.0 is expected to be released later in 2010.

In one new feature, a multitasking card metaphor will become what Palm is calling "the next generation of multitasking." Fanned-out cards represent different applications that a user is working on simultaneously, and can be switched from one app to another by moving from card to card.

Cards are grouped according to their association. The new webOS will automatically stack cards based on open activities, and a user can move cards from one stack to another.

'Just Type'

A new universal search will be called Just Type. Searches can be conducted by typing in the search field, as well as tapping on a search icon. In addition, third-party developers can add Just Type searching into their applications.

Quick Actions can be conducted from the Just Type field. This means that, for instance, a Twitter tweet can be sent from the same search field by typing in Tweet This with the message. E-mails, alarms, to-dos, and text messages can similarly be sent from that field.

Applications will be able to have a dock mode for when the webOS device is in a charger and in "glanceable" mode. Clocks, stock-market watchers, weather reports, and other information widgets will continue to be displayed. Apparently, though, only one such application can be in Exhibition view at a time.

Version 2.0 also opens up webOS' Synergy, which integrated e-mail, social-networking sites, and other activities. Developers will have access to Synergy integration, such as integrating a lesser-known social-networking service, a carrier-based feature, or non-Exchange intranets.

HTML5, Mojo Core, JavaScript

There will also be more support for HTML5 technologies, which Apple in particular has been pushing for its mobile devices. Application cache, canvas support, and geolocation are among the HTML5 areas the new OS will support.

A revamped Mojo Core will allow third-party developers to use existing frameworks more readily for webOS-based application development. Apps using PDK, or the plug-in development kit, will allow native code to work as plug-ins with regular webOS code. This could mean faster development, performance and installation for add-on capabilities, such as extra-dynamic displays of data on top of the standard webOS display.

Palm noted that its Node.js runtime environment will now be part of the OS, which means that services can be developed in JavaScript, utilizing what it described as "a rapidly growing library of modules."

webOS was originally launched in 2009. Palm was acquired by Hewlett-Packard earlier this year, and among other new webOS-based products to come will be one of two tablets that HP will release "in the near future." The other will be based on Windows 7.

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