Without the kit, Taylor said he has been developing for Pre using HTML 5-compliant browsers. HTML 5 backing is specification featured in Pre. Taylor said he also has been working with early drafts of a book on Palm Pre's webOS to get acquainted with the device.

Previously available only to a select group of partners, the kit was to be provided to a broader set of partners as part of an April 1 announcement.  But Taylor said he has signed up for the early access program for the SDK and heard nothing from Palm. "Whoever's gotten it that must be a very select group," he said. Taylor said access to the phone itself has been restricted, too.

"[Shipment of the device] is less than a month out, a few weeks now, and we still haven't gotten any word on when the SDK is going to be available or what development environments will be available for the SDK," Taylor said. He said he is developing an application for Pre that would use GPS and track parking spaces in the Los Angeles area.

In explaining the limited access, the said the company was still working on developer resources.

"The Palm Mojo SDK is brand new, and we're still actively working on our suite of developer resources. The Palm webOS platform will be a great platform for mobile app development, but we want to have a small group of developers kick the tires on our APIs, tools, and docs before we release them to the rest of the world," the company said.