The bounty to get a workable version of the Android operating system installed on the now-discontinued HP TouchPad is up to $2,000+, as of today.
As we previously reported, the goal of this project is to get some version of Android 2.x onto the TouchPad and, most importantly, stable. If successful, this effort will help keep the HP tablet a little more relevant to those unfortunate early adopters who have been left with a mobile operating system whose future is decidedly uncertain.
The project is being led by the modding community called HackNMod, which said it would divvy up the money to developers who achieve certain milestones, such as the first to get a “basic” port up and running, the first to get Wi-Fi working, the first to get audio functional, etc. $450 for the Android port itself comes from HackNMod itself, while the remaining portion will come from sponsors.
Today, the popular developer forum site XDA announced it, too, is getting in on the effort and has teamed up with HackNMod to increase the bounty to over $2,000. Its donation comes from an anonymous XDA member. XDA also has a dedicated forum for the TouchPad and TouchPad development. The forum thread announcing the increased bounty is here.
One group to watch in this effort is RootzWiki, which is working own its own “Touchdroid” project detailed here. Something tells us they’re going to end up with a good bit of that cash prize.