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HP TouchPad build of MIUI Android sees alpha release

HP TouchPad build of MIUI Android sees alpha release

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MIUI.us has released an alpha build of its popular Android ROM for the HP TouchPad based on Android 2.3.7.

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Despite the admiration given to webOS, HP's TouchPad has been the target of many hackers aiming to put the various flavors of Android onto the device, largely driven by HP's $99 firesale on the devices back in August. The latest of these is MIUI, which has just been released in alpha form for the tablet courtesy of the developers at MIUI.us. It's not Ice Cream Sandwich just yet, but instead is built on Android 2.3.7, and remarkably for an alpha, the list of working features is pretty exhaustive. The usual suspects like audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the touchscreen are all present and correct, with only an on-screen menu bar (to replace the lack of hardware buttons) and "other random bugs" listed as not working. The former's easily fixed by a download called Button Savior, which is free in the Market once you've installed Google Apps to the device.

We've not had a chance to try it ourselves, but the video from the guys at Liliputing makes it look fairly smooth and usable. Some elements of the UI are still slightly buggy though, and as ever Android 2.3 looks a little sparse on the 9.7-inch screen. A download link and installation instructions for the ROM are available over at the xda-developers forums if you feel like giving it a shot.