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HP TouchPad gets Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Summary: If you own an HP TouchPad, you may be pleased to find out that the device has been hacked to run Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It's currently available in a very early preview of a CyanogenMod 10 build.

Emil Protalinski

By for Zero Day |

Since day one, the HP TouchPad hasn't been treated very well by its parent company, and as always, it's been up to the hacker community to save the day. Last month, Google open-sourced Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) for third-party modification. As such, nobody should be surprised to learn TouchPad owners can now install Jelly Bean on their tablet (albeit it's currently a CyanogenMod 10 build).

Over on XDA Developers, forum user "Jcsullins" has revealed an Unofficial CM10 Preview based on Google's latest mobile OS. HP probably doesn't care, but anyone who knows that their HP TouchPad will never get a proper OS update is likely jumping for joy. This build currently only has partial hardware video and graphics acceleration. Furthermore, audio isn't working, and there is no front-facing camera or microphone support. Still, it's definitely a start.

It is now my job to give you the usual warnings. If you're not feeling confident, don't bother doing it. Stick with whatever you currently have on your HP TouchPad, either webOS or whatever flavor of Android (2.3 or 4.0) you've put on it.

Some users are reporting their device doesn't charge properly after installing this pre-release CyanogenMod 10 build, but this isn't happening for everyone. Personally I would recommend waiting a bit longer for this one, assuming you use your HP TouchPad on a regular basis. If you just want to hack around and have some fun, then by all means.

With all that out of the way, the download links you need are as follows: CyanogenMod 10 ROM for the HP TouchPad and the latest gApps package if you want Gmail, Google Maps, and other Google apps. For detailed instructions on how to install this build, check out RootzWiki.

See also:

Topics: Security, Android, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Mobile OS, Tablets

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8 comments
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  • It sounds useless for now

    But the guy even said it was.

    I wonder how long it will taken them to get it really working with everything?
    Michael Alan Goff
    Reply 3 Votes

  • Hardware Still Sucks

    The HP TouchPad hardware sucks and will be out of date by 2013.
    If the hardware isn't good, it doesn't matter what software it is using.
    f0real
    Reply 1 Vote

    • That is blatantly incorrect

      WP7 had terrible hardware, but the software made up for it.
      Michael Alan Goff
      Reply Vote

    • Elaborate?

      You made two completely unrelated statements. How does the hardware within the TouchPad suck?
      worldpeacewut
      Reply Vote

  • Not bad at all

    After reading this article I downloaded and installed Android Jelly Bean on HP TouchPad. The installation process was simple it took around 10 minutes. My WiFi network came up without any problem, I downloaded some free apps from Google Play namely Adobe Flash Player 11, Adobe Reader, Weather Channel, Google Maps (3D), MP3 Player, MP4 Player. All these apps are working just fine. I can listen to MP3 songs, watch MP4 without any problem. The only thing that does not work right now is the Camera. Suddenly my HP TouchPad has a new life with lots of free and for purchase apps which wasn't case with WebOS. My verdict, try it if you have not already done so, you may never want to go back to WebOS.
    DesiVictor
    Reply Vote

    • DesiVictor's TouchPad

      You wrote your review in August. How is the TouchPad performing? Mine is out for "conversion" as I type. A tech-friend is doing the work...professionally.
      Kay Butler
      Reply Vote

  • Default_Mobile Slander :3

    - Raisng a pint O' bitter, for teh sacking O' last bastion O' 90's phone-modem-ism... u 2 4G
    - We teh department store plebians shall dance on no-jobs apple, lead coffins... teh-tee-teh-toe-teh-tum...
    - 4 when teh beaggle-bourds, Raspberries, beagle-bones, panda-bourds, get done playing PC-O'-JR, we teh peoples shall PWN!
    - Our long un-cut nails shall drag upon, your touch screen, in a fortnight...melord... ))))your face, ((((your face... ))))your face
    yunocall
    Reply 2 Votes

  • CM9 is pretty good on TouchPad

    Last weekend I put CM 9 (ICS) nightly builds on my touchpad. I mainly did it to be able to get games for the kiddies. So far the only thing not working is the camera, which was a known issue. It is not quite as smooth as WebOS but runs well enough even with multiple apps running.

    I had never flashed a tablet or phone ROM before, but it only took about two hours most of which was reading up on how to do it and making sure I had the appropriate software. I actually thought it would be much harder to do and went back a couple of times to make sure I wasn't missing something.

    The touchpad is easy to flash with CM9 and you end up with a dual boot tablet ;) If you have one and have a little tech skill go for it.
    ZAD55
    Reply Vote
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