HP TouchPad can now run Android OS...sort of

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

What's more awesome than $99 dual-core webOS tablets? Kick ass hackers who put in hours of work to enable Android on the now discontinued HP TouchPad. Team Touchdroid has managed to install Android 2.3 (yes, it is the smartphone version but you have to start somewhere) with multi-touch now enabled. These lads are hard at work to turn the abandoned tablet into something useful and fun to use.

I'd like to see if someone can figure out how to dual-boot Android and webOS on that sucker...oh, wait Team Touchdroid already did!  Hit up Team-Touchdroid to track their progress, encourage their efforts or donate your TouchPads and $$$ for the common good.

Update on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 12:25AM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Seems like Cyanogenmod deserves credit as well for getting things started

Editorial: HP and the post PC World

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The news today that HP was cutting off webOS and possibly shifting away entirely from the PC market was monumental for a number of reasons. Ending its pursuit of the smartphone and tablet market a mere month after it launched the TouchPad, shows that HP is very aware of where it stands in this immensely competitive space. Putting the brakes on its PC business, where it has long loomed as a giant gives us an insight of how it sees the industry and where it is going. 

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HP TouchPad is available in Canada today for $449

Palm, HP and webOS enthuiasts waiting to get on the 10" inch bandwagon will be happy to know that they can run out and get HP's TouchPad tablet (or Russell Brand's 'li'l robot butler'). Now retailing for $449 (16GB) and $549 (32GB) from Best Buy Canada and Future Shop, this is the first of many non-smartphone webOS devices from HP which promised big things for the mobile platform including shipping it on every PC in the coming year and even on its printers.

Read our full on HP TouchPad review to see our impressions. Feel free to shoot us any questions about the device or its accessories as we have one in house to test.

Review: HP TouchPad 32GB webOS Tablet

Text and Photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Hewlett-Packard's first webOS 3.0 tablet, the HP TouchPad, which ships this week in Canada, will compete for the hotly contested  10" inch tablet space. Offering true multitasking, in-app notifications and innovative features such as Touch to Share, wireless docking and charging as well as HP Synergy's cloud savvy integration it seems to have a lot to offer, but is it enough?

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Review: HP Pivot on TouchPad

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of the more interesting components of the HP TouchPad is an app-specific tablet-zine that helps users learn more about available applications and also gives an insight on the developer community. Accessible through the TouchPad's HP Touch Catalog, Pivot is a novel way to promote the new ecosystem.

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Potential webOS developers meet the HP TouchPad in Toronto

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

HP reached out to potential webOS developers in Toronto yesterday and showed off the new HP TouchPad tablet as well as outlined the benefits of creating apps for webOS. The HP Connect Event held at the Spoke Club in downtown Toronto was well attended with eager programmers wanting to know more about the paltform and its benefits.

HP had a bunch of TouchPad demo units circling the event and anyone who was patient enough had a chance to spend time with the tablet. Some of the new advertisements for the TouchPad, part of a large awareness campaign starting soon, were also revelealed for the first time. Developers got to hear from some of the developers working on webOS and what their challenenges and benefits porting their apps from other mobile platforms. Former PalmOS developers and early webOS developers will be rewarded for their loyalty with discounts on the hardware.

The most important news we gathered from the event is that HP is serious in generating interest for webOS and the TouchPad and will flex its retail, marketing and distribution muscle to make sure the devices find their place in the market. We also foresee a future where webOS will ship on every HP computer (tablet or otherwise) and seeing how their recent focus on touch-enabled desktops is taking off, that makes complete sense.

The HP TouchPad launches in the US on July 1. It comes to Canada on July 15th.