Microsoft hopes that it will be able to draft developers who made apps for the HP Touchpad tablet based on the WebOS operating system into making apps for Windows Phone 7.

"To Any Published WebOS Devs: We'll give you what you need to be successful on WindowsPhone, incl.free phones, dev tools, and training, etc.," tweeted Brandon Watson, a Windows Phone evangelist for Microsoft.

"We have love for all developers. #webOS guys had a bit of a rough week though, so we're looking out for them," Watson said in another tweet.

Despite HP's decision to possibly spin-off its PC business under a shift in the company's operational strategy, HP TouchPad is enjoying a level of popularity it never had until after it dropped to $99 in price. HP said that it would suspend development of devices running HP webOS, including the TouchPad and webOS phones.

However, WebOS isn't dead yet, according to Jon Zilber, an HP spokesman.

"Far from burying WebOS, our goal is to ensure the platform's evolution as a robust operating system for an increasingly mobile and connected world," Zilber wrote on the official Palm blog. "We have received positive feedback from our customers and our developers about their enthusiasm for webOS -- powerful, elegant, and like no other -- and we intend to enhance the platform as we explore the options for webOS in today's marketplace. We'll take care of our existing customers and, as always, we appreciate your support for our platform. We encourage you to stay tuned as we write the next chapter in front of us."

On Monday, WebOS head Stephen DeWitt said that HP still planned to put WebOS on its printers and its PCs.