Skip to main content

CyanogenMod brings Android to the TouchPad in alpha form

CyanogenMod brings Android to the TouchPad in alpha form

Share this story

CyanogenMod TouchPad
CyanogenMod TouchPad

Since the HP TouchPad's release, near-immediate death, and subsequent $99 fire sale, developers and new buyers have been itching to get Android on the tablet. Cyanogen, unofficial king of the Android developers, announced it's hit the mark with CyanogenMod 7.1.0, an enhanced version of Gingerbread that appears to be the best-working Android we've seen yet on the TouchPad. Cyanogen called this build the "Lower Your Expectations" Edition, and indeed "working" is used loosely here: many functions don't work, many apps won't run, and battery life is apparently pretty bad. But Android's running, and most of the mission-critical stuff is there: buttons work, there's sound and wireless support, and the accelerometer and touchscreen are running properly. Installing this alpha is not for the faint of heart, as Cyanogen says repeatedly in the release — fortunately it's a dual-boot system, so you can still boot into stock webOS if you decide you like your apps to work properly. Check out the video below to see what CyanogenMod looks like on the tablet, or hit the source to try it for yourself.