If you managed to score a TouchPad during the great fire sale of 2011 there is a new way to get Android running on it. A Chinese developer has created a test version of a WebOS application package (aka IPK) that contains Android. Installing the file on a TouchPad will allow Android to be run as an app on the tablet.
The Chinese developer who made this TouchPad application is named Chomper. Anyone who owns a TouchPad and doesn't mind downloading something from a Chinese website can pull down the IPK file and load it onto their tablet to see Android running as an application on the device.
Engadget tested the application and had some favorable things to say about this method of running Android on the TouchPad. Android runs fairly smoothly as an app inside of WebOS. The only time performance issues are particularly noticeable is when the user is, "switching between homescreens or attempting to playback YouTube video."
Worth noting are the fact that neither audio nor multitouch are currently working and while the performance is overall smooth it is also on the slow side due to the fact that the OS is being emulated. PreCentral noted the same issues as Engadget but seems positive that this method of running Android on the TouchPad has a great deal of potential if or when the bugs can be worked out.
Getting Android running on the TouchPad is of interest to a number of people ever since the device hit the rock bottom price of $99. CyanogenMod has been the closest to getting Android fully running on a TouchPad so far. The group has managed to control WiFi, sound, multitouch, the accelerometer, and a slew of other features on a TouchPad running Android 2.3. The problem with the CyanogenMod solution is that it isn't available yet while this IPK by Chomper is.
Did you manage to get your hands on a TouchPad when they went on fire sale? Do you care about putting Android on your new toy?
