The short answer is NO! Let me explain.

Ever since HP announced its fire sale of its TouchPad, it has been selling like hot cakes. Now it seems, the whole blogosphere is abuzz with the news that people are looking for a way to install Android OS for the TouchPad. There even seems to a reward announced in the amount of $1500 for those who can do it.

Buying HP TouchPad for $99 during fire sale is a good option. In fact its a slam dunk buy as it is a good bargain and good value for money. However, since HP has announced that its closing shop on WebOS, the OS which is primarily designed and developed for TouchPad, how good of a hack there has to be for TouchPad users who wish to use it with Android OS? I am guessing pretty good. 

HP TouchPad / TouchDroid

Otherwise, they might be in for a rude surprise. Agreed that any community based OS or app will flourish, but given that there are so many other options in the market not to mention good value and strong customer support, why would anyone want to buy HP TouchPad and then hack it with Android OS?

If you look at the crowd, the ratio between Power users and General Users is quite small. These Power users are the one who go around hacking things, trying new stuff with their brand new device, who also know a good deal of programming and has hacked iPhone or iPad in the past. The rest of the crowd are mostly general users. They use it for web browsing, Skype chat, using Google Docs, etc. If you tell me that you have bought a TouchPad for that particular reason, then I applaud you. Yes, its a good idea. WebOS itself isn’t a bad OS.  Engadget has done a thorough review with lots of videos and photos of it.

However, if you are looking to buy HP TouchPad with the notion of hacking it with Android OS, well I say you are a damn fool! Why you should do it in the first place? There are tons of options available which has both guarantee plus good deal of technical support available for the devices you buy.

Recently I came across an Indian manufacturer called LACS (Lakshmi Access Communication Systems) who has developed a tablet, which runs Android OS, officially, plus its in the same price range of that of HP TouchPad.

Pepper-108i

More to the point it has 3.5 mm jack, a HDMI port, WiFi enabled, 10″ in size, front camera, 3G compatible, 4 GB in-built memory and expandable up to 32GB. Its called Magnum Pepper 108i. In addition, it also has a range of products which look amazing. This Pepper tablet looks great value of money considering that it is officially supported by Android and you will get technical support in case something goes wrong.

Not just Magnum Pepper, there is also Olivetab from Convergence which available for Rs. 13,000. Its not in the same cadre in terms of price point as Pepper, but it is much cheaper than Galaxy tab and iPad2.

With HP TouchPad/TouchDroid, do you think HP will be happy to help you, trying to repair your’s if something goes wrong? Think again!