[tracks914]

I was recently given a dead Touchpad. I got it working.
I was a devout WebOS user, 2 Pre's, 4 Veers, 1 Touchpad.
I loaded Android on my TP a few years ago, used it for 6 months, but it died. Still powered up but could only see one part of the partition on the hard drive but nothing else. I tried for a month to get it working but nothing so I bought a Tab A.
So now have have a new TP and I'm not sure what to do with it. what do you think?

[n1900]

The hardware is somewhat aged compared to alternatives. Do you want WebOS, is the big question. If yes, that is a factor. I really like WebOS but I decided to ditch it. I have a sort of new Touchpad too. It was unboxed for the first time a couple weeks ago. I loaded Android 4.4.4 to begin with, since it's stable. But I might try a newer build at some point. So far it's great for reading in bed and, with protection, for taking to the gym to keep a FitNotes log. It also makes a good calendar - I do not like to have any Google syncing, and I don't use CalDAV, so I picked up "Offline Calendar" from the play store and created a local calendar with that. Also good for podcasts and browsing the web and diet logging if you're into that sort of thing. It makes a very good home automation controller if you do any of that. I do not get smooth results streaming video from the net. I also don't get strong results with multiple video stream from a LAN surveillance system - it works, but there is lag. Video does work very well when I download the (i.e. MP4 format) movie and play it locally with VLC player or another. I could use it for traveling entertainment, especially by downloading a few movies before hand and some podcasts with AntennaPod or something like that. I haven't put a Bitcoin wallet on mine, since I still might load a new OS.

[Preemptive]

See the service pack link below for ways to keep the machine running. There are new browsers (listed in the user group thread). They came with a successful Qt5 port...

LuneOS is coming along, though there's almost too much going on. The Halium project is allowing access to more devices and LG has swerved back to open-source with a version of their TV OS. I think webOS ports will be using this as a component for LuneOS now. These changes may well be slowing development of the actual OS as a usable thing though. While these useful projects are adopted and incorporated, much tweaking & bug-fixing follows. It's now almost a year since the last 'monthly' release (and that's only because the September 2017 release was delayed to October!). https://pivotce.com/2017/10/08/luneo...release-decaf/

Anyway, you may find webOS / LuneOS is still of interest - perhaps more than Android. I read that Android P is very like webOS, but I doubt there's a version for the TouchPad.

[mazzinia]

Of that, you may be surprised, preemptive.
There's a version of android 8 working perfectly on the Touchpad, so I suppose the latter will happen too

[tracks914]

I was running Android 5 on my old one before it lost the main partition on the hard drive.(hardware all good, just won't see main partition and wasn't able to fix it.)
I was actually thinking of going the dual boot and now I see Android 8 might work I might try that. (WebOS is still fun to play with but not very practical anymore)

[wmcvey]

The hardware is somewhat aged compared to alternatives. Do you want WebOS, is the big question. If yes, that is a factor. I really like WebOS but I decided to ditch it. I have a sort of new Touchpad too. It was unboxed for the first time a couple weeks ago. I loaded Android 4.4.4 to begin with, since it's stable. But I might try a newer build at some point. So far it's great for reading in bed and, with protection, for taking to the gym to keep a FitNotes log. It also makes a good calendar - I do not like to have any Google syncing, and I don't use CalDAV, so I picked up "Offline Calendar" from the play store and created a local calendar with that. Also good for podcasts and browsing the web and diet logging if you're into that sort of thing. It makes a very good home automation controller if you do any of that. I do not get smooth results streaming video from the net. I also don't get strong results with multiple video stream from a LAN surveillance system - it works, but there is lag. Video does work very well when I download the (i.e. MP4 format) movie and play it locally with VLC player or another. I could use it for traveling entertainment, especially by downloading a few movies before hand and some podcasts with AntennaPod or something like that. I haven't put a Bitcoin wallet on mine, since I still might load a new OS.

I hear you on the Kitkat install on the Touchpad. I could have written the same exact post as you did as I'm on the same page. Streaming video is hit or miss, mostly a miss. The only real success I've had with that is Amazon Prime, it works very well and has a download feature too if your planning on being offline. no WiFi. Thanks for the heads up on AntennaPod, I'm giving that a try right now. I too was thinking about updating to 8.1, but not sure I want to risk it and just leave well enough alone.

[mazzinia]

Well, I've some fresh update.
The last fixes of 8.1 for the touchpad are released, and the group behind it is moving to security updates only. They are stopping further bugfixing and starting to port Android 9 instead

The chinese group I'm in contact with says the 8.1 rom works perfectly fine and all works. only the camera "may" blackout on some units, while it works flawlessly on all the others ( some units have a different camera module )

[n1900]

I hear you on the Kitkat install on the Touchpad. I could have written the same exact post as you did as I'm on the same page. Streaming video is hit or miss, mostly a miss. The only real success I've had with that is Amazon Prime, it works very well and has a download feature too if your planning on being offline. no WiFi. Thanks for the heads up on AntennaPod, I'm giving that a try right now. I too was thinking about updating to 8.1, but not sure I want to risk it and just leave well enough alone.

That is good to know about Amazon Prime I may give that a shot, thanks.

[n1900]

The last fixes of 8.1 for the touchpad are released, and the group behind it is moving to security updates only.

Sounds good I may give that a try, it would be a nice upgrade from Kitkat.

[jonwise80]

I recently re-hydrated a dormant TouchPad, and I'm loving it. Here's my main uses:

- During the day it sits on a Touchstone charger, with Exhibition on it functions as a Digital Picture frame
- Every morning, I drink my coffee and read RSS feeds in the FeedSpider app. So far, I like Innoreader, with a little PHP service I found that takes "headline" feeds and fetches the full story. Clicking links is hit or miss, because of the browser situation, but this RSS setup lets me read everything I want.
- I have an Amazon Echo for whole-home audio, but they recently announced that they were going to wipe out everyone's MP3 storage, so I moved my music to a little Pi-based uPNP server. KalemSoft's media player streams off the Pi to my Echos over Bluetooth and sounds great.
- When I travel, I load up a SCUMMVM game -- the TouchPad is a great experience for old point-and-click adventures, and there's 30 years of great games to explore. Having the built-in PDF reader means I can switch back and forth between the game and a guide if I get stuck :->
- My son loves the game Worms, and there's a great version for TouchPad that we play together.

All of this is on mostly-stock webOS 3.0.5, with a few tweaks and homebrews installed. This weekend I'm hoping to start tinkering with developing a couple of apps of my own -- including one to control my Philips Hue lights.