HP releases Android code for Touchpad
Just when the fire sale of the HP Touchpad was taking place, some customers had reported that they received Touchpads with Android running out of the box, and now HP has released the kernel source of Android for the Touchpad to the CyanogenMod team.
We had heard speculation about HP testing Android on the HP Touchpad, and when we asked HP about it they denied this speculation. If an Android manufacture is using Android then it is necessary that they make the code open source, but HP did not do so, also they can be forgiven as they were just testing it. The CyanogenMod team were the only people working on porting Android for the Touchpad, and HP has finally thought of sharing code for Android in Touchpad with the most famous dev team. This means that the owners of HP Touchpad will soon be seeing a stable version of Android for their devices.
Source:WebOS internals
CyanogenMod 7 For HP TouchPad In Works [VIDEO]
We’re getting closer and closer to a stable Android port for the HP TouchPad – a webOS-based tablet which was discontinued less than two weeks ago. A new video has been released today which shows the HP TouchPad booting into CyanogenMod 7 which suggests that development of Android on HP TouchPad is coming along very nicely.
The source of the news is RootzWiki – an Android developer forum – which is now the home for Android-related development for the HP TouchPad: Developer dalingrin from the CyanogenMod Team posted a video of an HP TouchPad booting into the popular CyanogenMod 7 aftermarket firmware for Android.
As you can see in the video, nothing on the screen is formatted properly and even the touchscreen drivers don’t work. However, this build of CM7 is in a very alpha stage of development so these things are expected. Everything will improve as the developers continue their contributing to the project.
From the thread:
Hey Internet/RootzWiki–
Here is some (older) touchpad progress from Friday. The Cyanogenmod team wanted to share it with the public as a blatant publicity stunt to bring attention to our need for a few more touchpads (for developers currently working without them).
As you can see from this quick demo, we’ve been working hard and have made progress. Since this video was created last week, the build has been more "tabletized" (tablet tweaks added, etc.), lvm support has been added, and 2d hardware acceleration should appear very soon.
This is all a part of the TouchDroid project, initiated by a group of four developers from RootzWiki forums. The project attempts to port over Android to the HP TouchPad wherein the first objective is to get Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” to the discontinued tablet and then, when it is released, bring over Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich”. It’s an ambitious project which, if successful, would make the HP TouchPad the cheapest and fastest Android tablet!
The developers have stated that they ultimately see Android and webOS co-existing on the TouchPad wherein users will be able to choose which OS they want to boot into:
Our ultimate vision is to create a *multiboot* solution where the end user will be able to boot into WebOS, Cyanogenmod, and/or other OSes. This appears to be very possible, and we have discussed several potential implementations with our new friends in the WebOS development community to make it easy for an end-user to set up.
The team behind the CM7 build has stated that they do not have an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) for the port. They are working as hard as they can and will release the ROM as soon as possible.
You may also be interested in:
You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google and Apple.
HP Unveils The TouchPad 4G For AT&T With 1.5GHz Processor
HP recently announced the TouchPad 4G tablet, exclusively for the AT&T customers in the US. This tablet is the 4G version of the HP’s first tablet device, the HP TouchPad. The original HP TouchPad was announced in February and it was released in July with a price tag of $499.99 for the 16 GB version and $599.99 for the 32 GB version. The HP TouchPad 4G will come with a powerful 1.5 GHz processor, instead of the 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor found on the original version.
“Consumers and small business customers are seeking cutting-edge mobile computing devices that offer easy access to the web and the ability to stay in touch with friends and clients on the go,” said David Haight, vice president, Business Development, Emerging Devices, AT&T. “The TouchPad 4G is a sharp, multifunctional device that delivers the perfect set of features. Pairing it with the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network and most extensive Wi-Fi network gives TouchPad 4G users the best mobile broadband experience in the market.”
HP has not yet announced the complete specs of this device, but it is expected to come with the same 9.7 inch display with 1024 x 768 pixels resolution, HP webOS Operating System, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera with video calling, 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB connector, WiFi b/g/n, 4G Connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Stereo speakers, 32GB internal memory, Browser with Full Flash support, Compass, light sensor and much more.
The HP TouchPad 4G is expected to be available only in 32 GB version since the company has not mentioned the 16 GB or 64 GB variant of this tablet. The price and release date of this tablet will be announced soon. Stay tuned for more updates!