HP TouchPad News: webOS Will Live on, Free HP TouchPad Promo & Android Almost

If you were one of the lucky people to nab an HP TouchPad when its price was reduced during the fire sales and promotions, last year, you can rest assure that its operating system webOS will live on.

Those who were hoping for an Android "jailbreak,' it's in the works.  There is still a slight chance that you could get an HP TouchPad for free.

HP announced that it is working to release webOS source code over the coming months starting off with Enyo 2.0 developer tool, today. Enyo 2.0 enables developers to write a single application that works across mobile devices and desktop web browsers, from the webOS, iOS and Android platforms to the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.

In February, HP will release attended project governance model, QT WebKit extensions, JavaScript core, UI Enyo widgets. Followed by the Linux standard kernel, Graphics extensions EGL, LevelDB, USB extensions in March. In April the code for Ares 2.0, Enyo 2.1 and Node services will be available. Finally in July, the System manager (“Luna”), System manager bus, Core applications and Enyo 2.2 will be offered, which will be followed by the August release of Build release model, Open webOS Beta and Open webOS 1.0.

If you are an Android fan and decide to "jailbreak" or modify your HP TouchPad, please be aware that it can void you warranty and cause some features not to work. CynogenMod has an Alpha version of  Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, including annoying bugs, such as lack of high-res video support. It doesn't look good when the Cynangen mod website says "The HP TouchPad is still very ALPHA and as such, most of it isn’t working yet."

The  HP TouchPad appears on the Wireless and Mobile News' top tablets of 2011 and top trends of 2011.  The last time we saw new HP TouchPads available for sale were at Walmart.com  along with buying an HP computer during Black Friday promotions.  HP blew out the last refurbished models on eBay on December 11, which caused even the eBay powerhouse to slow down.

The HP TouchPad sold-out and flew off the shelves when it was reduced to $99 for 16 GB and $149 for 32 GB.  A second run was sold-out to employees who spent the whole day ordering HP TouchPads with some complaining about the loss of work time.

HP  officially announced that they had no more new TouchPads in stock on November 7.  The hashtag #FoundTP  no longer shows any results at all.  It may be the tablet that would not die, has reached its final resting place.

However, the use of  the  HP TouchPad as a  promotion tool is not over.  MacMall at Huntington Beach will crown its  Facebook Foursquare Mayor on January 31 and give the winner a free HP TouchPad.  Hunting Beach is in Orange County, California.  We find it interesting that a "Mac" store is not giving away an iPad but an HP TouchPad.

The gray market is still alive on eBay where HP TouchPad models are selling for well over the fire sale price. One used 32GB model is has starting bid of$200 with Cyanagen Mod installed and "No returns accepted."

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