Android could hit HP’s TouchPad thanks to Touchdroid project

If you were one of the many gadget hounds to snag a $99 HP TouchPad this weekend, you may soon be able to run Android on the tablet thanks to a group of intrepid hackers.

The group’s Touchdroid project is only a few days old, but it’s notable since it’s the first concerted effort to bring Android to the TouchPad. And if it succeeds, Touchdroid would breathe new life into the tablet, which at the moment likely won’t see many future updates to its native webOS software since HP has given up on the hardware.

The group says that it’s first working on developing a port of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Once that’s reached a stable beta, it will begin working towards an Android 3.0 Honeycomb port. The latter was built with tablets in mind, so I’d recommend you wait until that port is available.

It’s unclear if the Touchdroid project will completely replace the Touchpad’s webOS software — which admittedly is quite nice on a tablet interface. Alternatively, the developers could make it possible to dual boot the tablet into either webOS or Android.

HP on Friday slashed the 16 gigabyte TouchPad’s price to $99 in Canada, where it quickly sold out at Best Buy stores. Best Buy initially said it wouldn’t offer the discount at US stores, but some lucky customers were still able to get their hands on the tablets. Over the weekend it was also possible to snag a cheap TouchPad via HP’s own site, as well as a multitude of other retailers.

Via Business Insider