From what I've seen:
- Graphics: HTML5 canvas. No word yet on if it's got the 3D support that's been planned for that canvas. But 2D access for graphics is pretty certain.
- Other than that, HTML5 local storage for your app data. They even have javascript access to old palm .pdb files.
- Javascript access to the contacts, calendar, phone, etc. APIs
- The app is stored locally, and can run without network access.
- As for networking/ssl... it's a web app written in HTML/AJAX, think about it :-)
Perhaps they'll provide ways to extend out the javascript APIs (e.g. native code modules) later.
I think if the choice was between a third all-new alien SDK and luring developers in with HTML+JS, Palm made the right choice.
I agree that it's neat--in fact, I expected that in the way of an iPhone SDK long before the native one existed (and given the number of ex-Apple employees on the team maybe that's where the idea came from)--but I wouldn't call it a mini-revolution. It's just an SDK built on an existing open source platform.
Functionality like what? Will it let you import physics libraries written in C? Give you access to OpenGL in javascript? What about networking stacks? What if I need OpenSSL? At a certain point you end up reinventing an awful lot of wheels even if the hooks are all there.