Palm (NSDQ: PALM) is gearing up to launch the highly anticipated Palm Pre, a smartphone that is expected to integrate the internet and applications into the handset more gracefully than the rest of the competition. However, it’s hard to tell. The phone has yet to be released and Palm has given the press limited demos (for instance, reporters aren’t allowed to touch the phone themselves).

But now there’s a few outside sources that are indicating that the phone may live up to its hype. NetworkWorld talked to a number of developers working with the phone’s operating system, called webOS, and the companion software development kit, Mojo. While developers are restricted in what they can say, NetworkWorld was able to confirm many of Palm’s claims for the OS. It gets pretty technical, but there’s at least three things that makes it stand out: it’s based on the well-known JavaScript language; it’s built to run several applications at once, and lastly, it offers an easier user experience.

Here’s what a few developers had to say:

Pivotal Labs: Christian Sepulveda, vp of business development: “It’s a completely new way of thinking about an OS on mobile devices.”

Pandora: Tom Conrad, CTO: “It’s the combination of these kinds of capabilities that excites developers. Palm started with a clean sheet of paper. Everything about the Pre feels like it’s ‘future-oriented,’ not an iPhone-inspired knockoff.”

Agile Commerce: Partner Eric Marthinsen: “With Mojo, we were up to speed in weeks. The barriers for entry for developing on Mojo are very low.”