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Open webOS ported to Google's Nexus 7 tablet

Open webOS ported to Google's Nexus 7 tablet

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 2 January 2013 16:23 IST

It has been just over an year that HP announced that it would release webOS source code. It fulfilled that promise later that year, and Open webOS was born. Now, thanks to the folks in the webOS community, Open webOS has been ported to Google's popular Nexus 7 tablet.

The port was made successfully by Open webOS developer Simon 'morphis' Busch. The port is still on its alpha stage but it was demoed via a YouTube video, and looks rather impressive. But don't rush to flash in on your Nexus 7 yet the build isn't exactly stable, and definitely nowhere near good enough to use in your primary tablet.

This isn't the first time we are seeing webOS or one of its variants on a tablet. As some may recall, webOS had an official 7-inch device - the infamous TouchPad Go. While that device didn't get too much attention from HP, the Nexus 7, with Open webOS, surely brings up a whole lot to look forward to in this episode of Open webOS.

To give a brief history lesson to the uninitiated, webOS is a Linux-based mobile OS original developed by Palm and seen on devices like the Palm Pre, Pre 2, Veer and TouchPad Go. While webOS-based devices didn't really take off commercially, it did win a set of fans, thanks especially to its UI. HP inherited webOS when it bought Palm for $1.2 billion in 2010.

Open webOS was started in August 2012 when HP fulfilled its promise of making the webOS source code available for free. While webOS has never been a closed source OS, this development would allow anyone to make use of the novelties present in webOS and then add their own flavour to it. It is difficult to say what's in the future for webOS enthusiasts, but with a small but active community, one can expect it find its way on to more devices in the future.

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