You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
What you see above is definitely very different and removed from everyday reality. In fact, we are talking about the Google Nexus 7 which obviously, being a Google product, will run on the Android mobile operating system and nothing else. Well, the folks over at WebOS Ports have been rather naughty, porting over webOS to the Google Nexus 7. This is definitely not the first Android-powered device to receive the webOS port ever since Open webOS v1.0 was released, and it definitely will not be the last.
This labor of love took Simon Busch a week with WebOS Ports to translate the build from the Galaxy Nexus over to the Nexus 7, and it can even run without having to hook it up to a computer. You will still need a tether during the boot-up process, but once done, you are able to unplug it from the desktop. Bear in mind that this is an early alpha build, so there are bound to have its fair share of bugs and glitches. We do hope to see more work as well as progress on this webOS port, as it certainly breathes new life into the Google Nexus 7 hardware and offers some more variety.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HTC Believes Settlement With Apple Will Pay Off In 2013, LG Boasts 1 Million Optimus Vu Units Sold In South Korea,
More than a few enthusiasts were gutted when HP exited webOS hardware before the Touchpad Go could even have the distinction of a press release. WebOS Ports’ Simon Busch can’t resurrect HP’s miniature tablet plans, but he can give us an inkling of what we missed with his new alpha port of Open webOS for the Nexus 7. The conversion is surprisingly complete given its basis on a related Galaxy Nexus edition: along with supporting core functionality like the accelerometer and WiFi, it at last cuts the cord and works independently of a PC connection. The only clear flaw is occasional lag. We’d still be cautious with a rough build of an OS that wasn’t ever intended for Google’s tablet; if that’s no obstacle, however, the Nexus 7 port is the next-best way to relive HP’s original vision for 2011.
Filed under: Tablets, Google, HP
Via: WebOS Nation
Source: WebOS Ports (Twitter)
While webOS is no longer officially around, thanks to HP‘s merciless hack and slash last year, developers are still keeping the operating system alive with the Open webOS initiative. We’ve already seen ASUS’s Transformer Prime tablet boot up on Open webOS, but it looks like the Google’s own Nexus 7 Android tablet has been given the webOS treatment as well.
The seven-inch Android-powered tablet built by ASUS from a partnership with Google was the premiere launch device for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and it’s now been unofficially webOS-ified thanks to the tablets open-source roots. While it’s a mostly unstable port at this point, a few key features appear to be working just fine, including the WiFi and web browser.
webOS Nation notes that the developer behind the Nexus 7 port got it up and running in about a week over his winter break from college — not a bad feat if you ask us, and it makes us forgive the fact that it’s not quite a stable build yet, since a lot of the essential features are still missing.
While there’s no doubt that webOS on the Nexus 7 is a downgrade in functionality compared to running full-blown Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it’s nice to see webOS continue on, even if it’s in an unofficial manner and only runs on a few devices currently. Hopefully we’ll see more from the Open webOS team in 2013.
[via webOS Nation]
Nexus 7 gets Open webOS port, still not a viable replacement is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you’re a fan of the defunct smartphone operating system webOS, you will be glad to hear that the Phoenix project has moved forward. A company called Phoenix International Communications has been working on a project with the goal of getting Open webOS to run as an app on Android hardware.
The project aims to allow webOS to operate as an app on Android devices without having to make any modification to the Android device itself. If Phoenix is able to pull this off it would mean that users would be able to run both Android and webOS simultaneously rather than having to boot into one operating system on the other.
Apparently the project first surfaced a few weeks ago when webOS was able to open as an Android app, albeit briefly. At the time, the webOS app was unable to get past the lock screen without crashing. The people working on the Phoenix project have released a new video showing progress has been made.
The video shows webOS as an app on a Samsung Nexus S and the app is able to get past the lock screen. The video shows that webOS actually runs as an app on the test device, even if it’s slow and sluggish. The reason given for webOS being so slow in the video is because there is no working hardware acceleration. What you see in the video is considered pre-alpha status so stay tuned for further improvements.
[via WebOSNation]
webOS reborn as an Android app is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
After its untimely demise, WebOS showed some resilience by coming back in open source form and popping up in various devices hither and yon. On the vanguard of that resurrection is Phoenix International Communications, a team of volunteers who’ve managed to port the orphaned OS to a Samsung Nexus S device, running as an app inside Android. So far, the reborn OS app is displaying decidedly zombie-like slowness, but it’s still an early pre-alpha build. If all goes well, you might one day be able to seamlessly switch between WebOS and Android without rebooting, letting you run apps from both systems. So, if you’ve been carrying a torch for the fallen system, check the video after the break.
Continue reading Phoenix project reincarnates WebOS as Nexus S app
Filed under: Cellphones, Software
Via: Liliputing
Source: Phoenix (YouTube)
Ever since HP rolled out the source code for Open webOS, developers have gotten down to work with relish, and some of them have even ported the operating system to different platforms, and one of the more memorable moments was to see it run on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as well as other devices such as the Asus Transformer Prime tablet. Well, who knows, sometime down the road, you might actually be able to run Open webOS on your Android smartphone or tablet without having to reboot. This can mean only one thing, right? Open webOS running in an Android environment without having to reboot would see it exist as apps.
The good people over at Phoenix Devices have been working hard on porting the operating system so that it can run as an Android app, and you can check out the latest demonstration video above to see their latest progress. The Samsung Nexus S was the smartphone of choice to launch an Open webOS app in the Android ecosystem, but the user interface remains extremely slow since there is a lack of support for hardware accelerated graphics. Many other details remain missing, but we are sure they will be in place in due time as work progresses in the right direction.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Australian airline company Qantas adds Passbook support for iPhone check-ins, Gear4’s Lightning Dock for the iPhone 5 gets the job done – nothing more, nothing less,
HP’s PC chief has dismissed Microsoft’s Surface tablet as “slow and a little kludgey” and blamed the tech press for over-hyping what he would “hardly call … competition” to HP’s own products. “Holistically, the press has made a bigger deal out of Surface than what the world has chosen to believe” Todd Bradley told CITEworld, going on to say that HP’s initial focus with Windows tablets is the enterprise, with consumer-centric models not expected until 2013.
“We’re not entering the consumer tablet fray any time soon. We’ll be doing something next year, but you won’t see a consumer tablet from HP before Christmas” Bradley confirmed. “You’ll see convertibles that are focused on how you use the device, keyboard, clamshell.”
Although specific OS and processor is undecided, Bradley is “not a big [Windows] RT fan either.” The company confirmed back in June that it had frozen plans to release its own ARM-based RT slate, though it denied that the decision had been prompted by Microsoft’s surprise announcement of its own Surface project.
“I’d hardly call Surface competition … One, very limited distribution. It tends to be slow and a little kludgey as you use it. I just don’t think it’s competitive. It’s expensive. Holistically, the press has made a bigger deal out of Surface than what the world has chosen to believe. If you want to go to any of the 30 Microsoft Stores in the United States to buy one, I think you should probably do that” Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP
Of course, it’s somewhat ironic that HP should dismiss Surface after the dire HP TouchPad launch, though Bradley says that the company’s own failures, if anything, give him better insight. “I’m saying that as somebody who understands the consumer market pretty clearly” he argued. “Obviously the decision by our board to shut down the WebOs business caused us to have a significant delay in our tablets. We’re catching up slowly, both with tablets and with convertible devices.”
Those convertible devices – and HP’s other Windows 8 hardware – may well attempt to bridge the traditional divide between enterprise and consumer hardware, and instead try to be all things to all users. Asked about what HP has planned for 2013, Bradley says we can expect to see “a lot of work with devices in the enterprise that are broadly ubiquitous, getting away from commercial and consumer and just having one set of IT products.”
HP PC chief: “Kludgey” Microsoft Surface is “hardly competition” is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Smart TVs are starting to creep into our living rooms slowly but surely, thanks to a decent Internet connection that has made its way into just about every single home. LG, for instance, is said to debut a new Smart TV that will run on the now defunct webOS. No idea on just how LG intends to go around implementing a webOS-powered Smart TV, as it sure as heck is a whole lot harder to develop compared to what we hear on paper. LG did sign an agreement with HP to make use of the webOS service earlier in 2012, where engineers from both companies have worked together, and LG is said to have sent its dual-core L9-powered motherboards to webOS employees for further in-house testing.
Apart from that, the people over at webOS Nation did say that some of the more popular Smart TV applications such as Netflix will be rebuilt from scratch via the Enyo software that was used for developing HTML5 apps. Could we be looking at a webOS Smart TV prototype appear at CES next year?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG Smart TV range to include Disney 3D movies, LG Smart TV to get Voice Control before May 2012,
LG is tipped to be developing a webOS-based smart TV, using the open source platform in favor of Google TV, after concerns about the Android-base OS’ momentum. The deal has seen LG dispatch engineers and prototype hardware to HP’s Sunnyvale Gram facility, webOS Nation‘s source claims, with the goal of showcasing the first models at CES 2013 in January.
Although both LG and HP apparently signed an agreement some time ago – back in June, in fact – to collaborate on the project, there are still some wrinkles yet to be ironed out. Most obvious (and likely to actively frustrate users) is boot time, with Open webOS taking some time to load up; tablet and phone users might be willing to suffer such a delay, but those settling down on the couch are probably not.
To address that, LG’s L9 motherboards – which use a dualcore processor, and are found at the heart of existing LG smart TVs – have been sent over to HP’s engineers for testing and trialling software tweaks. What could end up being the solution, it’s said, is a TV that only shuts off the display when put into standby, with the processor actually remaining on in the background for a subsequent instant-resume.
Hardware isn’t the only challenge, however. Open webOS would replace LG’s NetCast platform, and needs smart TV-focused apps to cater for that challenge. Netflix is one cited example, with a player apparently being build in Enyo (the platform’s application framework), as well as other web-connected widgets and apps for YouTube, Pandora, and other services.
As for why LG is pushing ahead with Open webOS rather than sticking with Google TV as it previously announced, it’s a complex one. The Korean company is apparently uncomfortable with Google’s demands for using its platform, and turned off by its slow adoption overall; meanwhile, the ever-present specter of Apple and the longstanding chatter of an Apple smart TV has pressured LG into taking precautionary steps of its own.
Those steps will need to be shared with HP/Gram, of course, but with the $1.2bn acquisition of Palm still yet to produce tangible benefits to pacify shareholders, Open webOS poses more potential for tinkering and modification.
LG Open webOS smart TV planned for CES 2013 as Google TV sidelined is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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