And not just the OS, but the associated app ecosystem will stagnate.
Whether you care about apps is a separate issue.
I read in a thread on xda that some people were asking about porting dalvik to WebOS so that android apps could be run without flashing to Android. I have no idea about the practicalities of doing that though (or the legality, given the whole Oracle/Android kerfuffle that's ongoing).
I was initially going to stop development and wait, but after hundreds of thousands of potential customers emerged over the weekend, it's full steam ahead.
I know it's the same for some other devs, as well. A good number of us are sticking around, at least supporting and fixing bugs on our apps, and creating new ones.
The ecosystem is definitely not dead yet, but we can only run on fumes for so long. If they get a hardware parter and new hardware that people lust for (imagine webOS on the likes of a Nexus S or Galaxy S II), we might be OK.
There's no new tablet hardware available, which limits growth on how many new developers can pick up a device and start developing against it.
The current influx of new users are sub-optimal customers compared to other platforms. They're either bargain hunters or gadget geeks that picked it up as a tertiary device.
Whether you care about apps is a separate issue.
I read in a thread on xda that some people were asking about porting dalvik to WebOS so that android apps could be run without flashing to Android. I have no idea about the practicalities of doing that though (or the legality, given the whole Oracle/Android kerfuffle that's ongoing).