yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Roto-rooter:
After speaking with some of you it has become readily apparent that while many people are comfortable waiting for a full android release for the HP Touchpad, there are also quite a few people out there that do not want to switch to a full android OS but simply wish they could have access to the vast app collection that android has to offer.

For these people I offer a solution.

Palmdroid​

The Palmdroid project is going to be an ongoing development project to bring a Dalvik like port to the Palm/HP WebOS operating system.

The goals of this project are as follows:

1) to offer a Dalvik port to WebOS that allows for android app emulation as if they were native WebOS apps much like Alien Dalvik on the nokia n900 or the app emulator of the blackberry playbook

2) Share useful information throughout development with the Touchdroid team as to help them reach their end goals and avoid conflicting and overlapping work as well as to foster collaboration and new ideas to speed the project along.

3)If possible (either worked into the project from the start or through later additions) provide the emulator as a download through the WebOS homebrew App catalog.

Now with the goals outlined I'll move on to how this is going to get going and what needs to happen next.

1) First and foremost... I need volunteer developers. If you have experience with Dalvik, WebOS development, Android development, UI development, C++, Java, Etc. I would like you to PM me with details regarding what you can help with. I have some java and C++ experience as well as a ton of web dev and project management experience but with alot of this I am learning as I go and if this is going to get done with any sort of speed I NEED your help.

2) I will be setting up communication channels for the dev team to discuss what needs to be done, share work, etc.

3) I will be setting up a web page (an extension off of my own since I can't finance purchasing another hosting account or domain name right now) where there will be regular updates on the status of the project as well as a section for the dev team as a repository for project related research, source code bits, group status reports etc.

Until the aforementioned steps are met this thread will be used to offer info, updates, and discussion related to development of Palmdroid.

I hope to have the support of the community here as we move ahead... i know I am new around here but I am very passionate about making this happen.

WebOS is a great operating system... and Android has some amazing apps... won't it be an amazing world when you can have both!

:cool:Palmdroid Coming Soon:cool:​

-Roto-rooter

PS. this should probably have been in the development section but apparently I can't post there because I am to new here so forgive me. If a Mod would like to move it and give me posting abilities that would be fine.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] anghelyi:
I subscribed to this thread even tho I have no WebOS devices at all. But I'm intersted in this project's work (I'm not a developer just a "hacker") as the same idea was proposed in the Bada section, too. It seems quite a lot of work to do this, as it's not enough to port dalvik itself, a big chunk of android has to be ported also to make it work. But it's an interesting project!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] tricky-tricky:
Agree! I don't want the entire Android OS ... All I want is the apps running on a webos emulator.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] wearefree:
Great! Thanks! I'll be watching closely!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] FAILHARD:
while I probably cannot be of use for the development, I can be helpful for some other things. For instance, I am in the process of creating a logo for the project and also searching for possible devs. I will contact the touchdroid team and see what they think.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] emanas:
Brilliant Idea about starting the dev work

I would support this development and I am sure countless others who have just purchased $99/£89 HP Touchpads would do so. Once again thank you Robo-Rooter & Failhard to start this work.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Grindboy:
Just got my 32gb Touchpad in the firesale. Really loving it so far. Having android apps on it would really top this device off. Good luck. :-)
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] dharani1234:
Have been using the touchpad for a couple of days and am amazed at the elegance and sophistication of the webos. Though an old android user ... I absolutely love the webOs interface.

Would love to see the palmdroid happen ... ALL THE VERY BEST GUYS ...

Thanks Robo-Rooter & Failhard for initiating this.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Notorious544d:
This would be absolutely perfect. I wouldn't want to ditch the WebOS but still be able to run Android apps.

You have my full support.:D
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] dalethefarmer:
Great idea!

Great idea!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Ratix0:
I have a droid (DesireHD) myself and comparing the droid's interface and webOS, I really like webOS. And looking at how the patches and O/C makes the whole tablet runs silky smooth, I really want an android app emulator. Current apps in webOS's catalogue is pathetic, but combining android's apps and webOS interface is the best one can get.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] droiddawg:
Subscribed. If I can't get the Android OS, an emulator would do nicely.

sent from my 7/23 iNfEcTeD EVO 4G
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] ntsan:
Yeah it will be great to those who want to keep WebOS
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] bmebme:
Subscribed.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] emkman:
I am a long time webOS enthusiast, and I am hoping that I actually get one of the 6 TouchPads that I ordered over the last few days. I think your proposal is the best way to go, and would be way more useful, and probably easier, than a full dual boot android port. I just wanted to list some resources here to bring to everyone's attention. While XDA is the most amazing collection of talented Android and WinMo hackers, you probably want to enlist the help of the aces that live and breathe webOS. Here is where to find them:

http://forums.precentral.net/ Definitely the most popular webOS forum. All the homebrew devs and hackers hang out here.

http://www.webos-internals.org/wiki/Main_Page This is where all the nitty gritty is documented in a Wiki. I have known some of the webOS internals guys since the day the Pre launched, and they are very talented.

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=webos-internals This is their IRC channel.

Also, if anyone has not seen it, they have already got Ubuntu, including window managers, and apps like GIMP and LibreOffice, running inside cards in webOS. This leads me to believe that the Palmdroid concept is VERY possible.

http://forums.precentral.net/webos-development/292457-tutorial-how-get-ubuntu-touchpad.html

The nice thing is that lots of great auxiliary tools already exist to speed up the process, such as MetaDoctor for creating custom ROMs and Preware for downloading and compiling virtually any linux arm package.

Best of luck with everything. I am subscribing and will help where I can.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] shepx2:
This is what I was waiting to hear!!! Let us know where to donate!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] tim04:
I agree with this 100%
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] rkstarnerd:
+1 I believe this is the answer! Hope more people come on board!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Xman09:
Subscribed, definitely want to know where this is heading.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] erick161:
as the biggest supporter of android on the TP, I've started to fall in love with webOS, not gonna lie. I would definitely support this idea. Its always great to have options!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] writer:
Lets get this party started!!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] b.huss2:
My new webOS tablet is on the way. I bought it as a toy cause I couldn't refuse $100 for this hardware, especially with the potential of android integration. I wish I could help with development but all I can offer is testing, but I'm more than happy to test anything to help this project.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] amenditman:
I've been using my Motorola Atrix for a few months to get to know Android. It is a great system. I just got the TouchPad a few days ago and already I am seeing where webOS is superior in many ways. The biggest fail of webOS is that H/Palm has not built an App catalog to rival iOS and Android.

I am in favor of Palmdroid instead of wiping webOS and installing Android.

If I had my dream come true, I would run TinyCore linux (or Arch or Slack, or anything but Ubuntu) as the main OS on the TouchPad and run webOS and Android in VM on it.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] amdme127:
This is great!!!

I am a web/user interface designer and absolutely love the interface that comes with WebOS. I am a big supporter for android and had up til now used android tablets, apple ipads, windows 7 tablets (not really tablet os), etc. Without the recent deal I wouldn't ever of had the chance to use a WebOS device. I had always heard it had a good user interface, but that is an understatement, it blows the other tablet oses away in user interface. I think the biggest threat to WebOS and any other tablets are Windows 8 (imho, it is a projection).

I love this idea and hope all goes well with it. I would like this to help convince app developers to develop specifically their apps for WebOS as well as the other tablet systems. Besides the obvious benefits of this project of getting a larger selection of apps, hopefully an offshoot of this project would be the ability to make it easier to port apps and customize them directly for WebOS (implementing the interface of WebOS over android). Because what is better than a android app running on WebOS, is having that app customized for WebOS performance and the integration of WebOs's interface.

I wish all the developers the best of luck getting this running and am very excited to see where this goes and on top of that the other ideas and innovation that this project can fuel.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] anghelyi:
Gents! Have you thought about the possibility to run Android in a chrooted environment (like Ubuntu) instead of creating a new software? This seems to be easier for me...
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] HaiKaiDo:
An interesting idea in its own right, but not exactly what were looking for here. This is to AVOID having to switch to another operating system, and just add the function ability of android/its apps to WebOS. Thats not to say i wouldnt be interested in seeing something like that :D.

Also i was wondering, is this project making progress?
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Roto-rooter:
one idea currently being considered is this:

Ubuntu is already a readily available webos integrated os.

I stumbled across a 2 year old version of ubuntu known as android execution environment. this version of ubuntu merges it's linux kernel with parts of the android os kernel as well as i some of its libraries. This allows android apps to operate natively without emulator like lag and support issues..

porting dalvik is still under exploration but right now I'm trying to hunt down a copy of this surprisingly elusive ubuntu distro. If it can be located and installed successfully the android apps will operate in cards with essentially an ubuntu back end. we shall see where this road takes us. if nothing else exploring both paths leaves options open in case of road blocks at one. if i can find this distro it will be the easiest fix and if not permanent at least it will give app access till a full dalvik port can be completed.

there still isn't a dedicated dev team on this project.. it's mostly myself and a few devs that i have been consulting with from the touchdroid teams IRC channel but progress is being made although somewhat slower than i would like.

more updates to come when progress is made. when i see significant progress i may set up a donation link to get some money together for a dedicated website (domain name and server space) that way there's a central place for communications and a place to offer the finished product.

i'd pay out of pocket and do it now but i'm in the process of packing and going back to college and the last $40 in my bank account I need for gas to get back to school lol. so bare with me while things get rolling.

I really do appreciate everyone's support thus far it's a real motivator to know that people really want to see this happen as much as i do.

now if only i could get some developers willing to take on the task of recoding the dalvik jni callbridge and a few other key components we'd be golden but alas they all seem scared of the challenge.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] caramelzappa:
Subscribing. I hope you manage to get a good team together. That Ubuntu distro sounds very promising. Good luck!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] tiny17:
I can run the web operations - allowing you to just send me text/images via email and I can put them up on a blog. But I can design the blog its self. I can just throw it up on my generic m-arcade site, under its own section.

PM if you are interested.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] shepx2:
There seems to be very little knowledge of this project. We need to get some visibility to it, to get more dev support.

I can't help with any dev work, but I stand by my earlier statement. I'm ready to donate, just let me know where. I would much rather see this instead of an android (phone) port
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] moxdown:
Subscribed! Love to see how this will work out!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] docnas:
Subscribed , Thanked and Eagerly awaited!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] phrenicthenub:
Awesome project. Thanks and good luck! Would love the option to keep webos.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] davebu:
so why didnt HP hire you instead of throwing everything away?
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] linkinpark4175:
Hopefully you will get this working!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] bobcote:
Way to go guys!

WebOS is nice and Android apps are cool, so having both would be perfect.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] amirborna:
My child will be named PalmDroid
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] tweedie:
I think its a great idea this. coming from an droid myself, I too find that webos is a nice refreshing change and slick. Pity about the software choices. Being a programmer, palm dev membership is a bit confusing/unfriendly for UK dev -especially regarding getting USA social numbers and faxing forms and that!!? (anyway, going off topic here!)

if porting Dalvik- would that mean only java side of the droid app will work? i mean, what about c/c++ (ndk) stuff?
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Geekswife1992:
Count Me In

A couple of days ago I would not have been very gung ho for this idea of an Android emulator for webOS. But now that I have had time to 'play' with my 32GB TouchPad I am really excited about it.

The interface is very smooth and elegant; a step above the traditional Android home screens IMHO. Though there aren't very many useful apps with the HP Catalog, I have found a few that I really like. Plus I like the idea of being able to print directly from the tablet to my HP OfficeJet Pro 8500. (I haven't found anything that works consistently with my Droid X)

I don't have any programming experience to help with this project, however, I can test.

Thanks to all who are using their skills and talents to make this happen.

PS Second best idea I have heard on this situation is dual booting - either works for me.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] nks2105:
dual booting looks good on paper but in reality it's kind of a pain in the ass unless all the data is shared between the 2 OSes.

I'm pretty sure some people will disagree but that's my experience from having dual boot in my HD2...
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Geekswife1992:
Dual Boot

nks2105,

As I stated I am not a developer; I assumed the only way to dual boot a device like this was to somehow 'partition' the memory and have two separate entities. Logically this would seem to be much more involved and difficult than creating an emulator to run within the webOS.

If someone was able and willing to invest the time for it, I certainly wouldn't complain, but I realize that this is probably a monumental task. Seems more likely to produce bricks, too. :)
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] linkinpark4175:
on HTC HD2 you could have Windows mobile and launch android through a shortcut from inside WinMo
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Geekswife1992:
Dual Boot

linkinpark4175,

I too did this with my HTC Fuze (WM6.0 from AT&T). It still works like a charm with wifi. :)

But this required memory in two places. One was the phone rom chip (WM) and the other was a removable SD card (Android). I'm not sure from a development standpoint if that makes any difference or not. It seems to me that it might.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] nks2105:
my post was not directed to you in particular, sorry if you felt that way.

The point of my post is that, in my opinion, the 'user experience' (trendy words) that dual booting brings rarely equals the sum of its parts.

For the rest I totally agree with you.

And to stay on topic, I think this project could be the best thing that could happen to the TP if successful.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] drt054:
This would be a great idea or just maybe port like the card system to Android and I would be happy :)

sent from my LG Revolt 1.3 powered by MTMichaelson
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] laurenbanjo:
Thank you SO much!! I cannot thank you enough for this. This is exactly what I'm looking for. At first, I wanted to port Android. That was before I actually got my Touchpad. I LOVE the WebOS! However, there aren't many useful apps that I need. Making Android apps available will make it the perfect tablet. (Plus, I don't want to lose my 50 GB of free cloud storage!)
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] moxdown:
great man! Seems like you joined xda because of this huh? Well goody and welcome aboard! Ummm is it true that this project is dead? I actually saw that on Google. No offence though, I'll give the link as soon as i find it. Seems like the TouchDroid project too has hit a few ..... Let's say.... Obstacles.... Any way best of luck if you'll do continue this project you guys!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Daughain:
Picking up a Touchpad in a few hours, and I must say, I love this idea. I don't have the time or skillset for dev work, but I always enjoy beta testing, so consider this an offer of another tester.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] writer:
Same here! This must go on and exceed! WebOs is a great system that is just laking in apps.This is the perfect solution.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] goodboynyc:
Can we get some traction on this? I'd much prefer this as opposed to flashing Android over webOS. The multitasking on WebOS is just so much fun/better/awesome/great/win.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] sthacher:
This version of ubuntu seems to have been abandoned before it was ever fully completed. Here is the Dev's blog. I can provide the hosting space and a subdomain for this project please contact me via e-mail to work out details. I sent you a PM
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] lebye:
dunno if you guys will manage to do something working but if you do, your project is by far the best imo, and much more interesting than porting Android 2.x on the TP.

gl guys;)
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Eat it iPhone:
I agree, would love to see this get off the ground. Any other methods for following the development of this? (twitter, blog, etc)
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] lev777:
Another cheerleader here. Very interesting project. I look forward to your work.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] donisewell:
I love the idea of running the android apps inside webOS. At first all I wanted was a full android port but after spending some time on my new TouchPad, I want to keep using it. I would donate to a cause like this.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Metalshadowx2:
I agree... i fell in love with webos.. after the 1.5 overclock i dont wish to go anywhere else. It would be nice to have webos and the android market and ill be fine.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] bmebme:
Up, it needs more attention,
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Pvster:
hell yes! i'm not a dev and i dont have programming experience but i'd love to help nonetheless even if it's just to show support. i think this is the best idea yet! run android apps in webOS cards.. that's awesome!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] stealyphil21:
just like most others posting in this thread, after spending some time on my touchpad I am much happier with webOS than any other potential android port possible... But would love access to the android market app listing. Please take up the offer to create a site so we can have more of a centralized update system for this project, I would love to see this project done!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] :
I did get my TouchPad and I have owned a Pre before my current EVO 4G but to turn things around real quick for a sec.. whats the closest things to web os on android.. like using the card system
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] sednafx:
After playing with my touchpad, I have to agree, I really like webOS. I look forward to seeing where this project goes. I will also be donating when this is released. Thanks Devs.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] docnas:
im pimping out this thread everywhere i go hoping i an get some more devs to bite and dig into this.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] hachew:
have been using android for some time. after trying out webos, really love it... but sadly, there's far too little apps. thus this project is a better idea than porting the whole android over.

hope developers do consider the suggestions put up here. :(
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] string158:
this would be amazing!

There are loads of great android apps, but after 2 days with my touchpad I already love webOS too much to want to replace it with Android. For me android apps would be killer, although access to chrome web apps would also help add to the experience.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] onceanywhere:
I am willing to work on this project, now if only Roto would log in.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] cocochannel:
can not wait for this!
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] xandros9:
AWESOME. Woot! :D
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] brarsandeep:
Subscribed...very interested.

I used to have a Palm Pre and loved the WebOS. I then moved onto Android and have both a phone (Froyo) and tablet (Honeycomb) and love the number of apps and hacks available. When the touch pad went to $99 (16gb) I ordered 3 and just got them today. Opened one up and using it right now. Somewhat disappointed at the number of apps out there, or lack there of. I would have been pissed if I paid $499 for this thing. Also, between the time I ordered the TouchPad and received them my employer gave me a iPad 2...talk about tablet overload. If I had to choose one to keep it would be the iPad...edging out my Android tablet by just a bit, only because I can download and watch cable tv from my cable provider on the iPad.

Now, if someone here can come up with a utility that allows you to run Android apps on the Touchpad...that would be awesome! Make me feel a little better about getting these Touchpads.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Wearespacepeople:
has there been any progress updates on this? I did a quick scan through this topic all I see is a bunch of people who would love to this happen, which is fine but you guys sure as hell make it hard to find updates/progress.
[WebOS Software and Hacking General] Daughain:
I looked up the Ubuntu distro that was mentioned, but it appears building from source is the only current option. If I had something other than my TP, I might attempt a build. Alas that won't be an option for a while. Anyone familiar enough with linux to try this build?