Things that DO NOT WORK:

• Hardware Video (OMX). As a result, Netflix does not work, YouTube works only in non-HD videos.
• Audio is a mess. The microphone does not work. Work on the current libaudio solution has halted because we will eventually switch to a CAF libaudio.
• Camera does not work. The only libcamera.so that we have is from froyo and its closed source. There is a wrapper for QCOM gingerbread libcamera libraries that could likely be used as a basis to get our camera working.
• Market filters prevent some apps from being installed (this can partly solved by switching back to standard DPI settings(120, 160, 240). The current build is using 160 which fixes the market but makes everything look ugly and low resolution.
• Titanium Backup crashes the kernel. There’s an investigation in progress…There are reports that older versions do work.
• Most of the hardware problems from CM7 still exist in this CM9 alpha build.

The aftermarket firmware makers have been on a roll as of late, recently announcing an impressive milestone of 1 million installs (combining both official and unofficial). That said, don’t get super excited because this is after all an alpha build, which means lots and lots of bugs.

[RootzWiki via Android Central]

The CM team has been developing an alpha 1 and 2 build of its wildly popular CM7 platform, but with CM9 right around the corner it not only expedites the process but should make things a lot better on functionality. According to CyanogenMod ”everything except the camera and video playback works and they’re ‘well on their way in terms of progress, and hope to give you something to play with soon.”

The aftermarket firmware makers have been on a roll as of late, recently announcing an impressive milestone of 1 million installs (combining both official and unofficial). These guys are really great at finding ways to innovate and bring new features to stock Android. CM not only revives older devices left in the cold, but frees them from their shackles placed on them by the overlord — manufacturers/carriers. This is clearly the case with their ongoing work with porting Android into the TouchPad.

Checkout the embedded video below of CM9 running on the HP TouchPad:

[via ZDNet]

Whitman stunned the tech world when she confirmed to The Verge that HP would make a webOS tablet. It probably won’t arrive until 2013, because it’ll take that long to re-organize the webOS team and move in its new, open-source direction. She also said that HP will continue to invest in webOS and views this project as a long-term commitment to the mobile platform.

As much as I love webOS, you have to wonder what HP is thinking? Is Whitman being sincere when she says HP will commit itself to webOS for five years and manufacture tablets? Or is she just giving the platform lip service and sweeping it slowly under the rug? If she is being serious, you have to question the wisdom of her judgement.

WebOS was a terrific mobile operating system when it was introduced in early 2009. It was fresh and different, but it hasn’t seen a significant revision in a long time, an exceptionally long time. Other platforms like iOS and Android have leapfrogged webOS and provide a pleasing UI with built-in cloud services for music, movies and files. Other platforms have a robust developer community which includes small indie shops, leading companies and everyone in between. WebOS may have a strong grass roots following, but when was the last time you read about a major company launching a webOS application?

Maybe Whitman doesn’t want to be known as the CEO who killed webOS, because as she says, “ it’s a great asset, and who wants it to go away?” Maybe she sees some potential in webOS that e don’t. Either way, it’s going to be an uphill climb. By the time webOS enters the tablet market, again, it’ll be 2013. iOS will own 90% of the market, Amazon will have 10% and the rest of the field will be competing for the scraps. WebOS won’t be te only scavenger fighting for sales; Windows will be there competing with Windows 8, too.

So what do you think? Was HP right to take another gamble with webOS or should the company shelve it and move on?

[The Verge]

HP announced to employees that it is selling off its remaining inventory of refurbished TouchPad tablets starting Sunday, December 11th at 6:00 pm CT. Both the 16GB and 32GB model will be available at HP’s ebay storefront for $99 and $149, respectively. HP is also selling a 3-piece Accessory bundle with a Case, Charging Dock & Wireless Keyboard for $79.

Customers can only buy two units, and they must use PayPal to finance the purchase. As with any fire sale, it’s first come, first serve and while supplies last. Judging by the madness that ensued when HP dropped the price to $99 this fall, these tablets will sell out fast. Anyone interested in grabbing one? It’s probably your last chance.

[TechCrunch]

The DigiTimes report was quickly rebuffed by Asus and Dell. According to ZDnet, both companies flat-out deny any reports they are exiting the tablet market. Despite this denial, I can see why the original report may be true. Battling the tablet behemoth Apple is one thing, but to also compete with Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with their unbelievably low prices on hardware makes it damn near impossible. How can they compete with the Kindle Fire which is just 200 bucks and the upcoming Nook Simple Touch which is supposed to cost $99? These PC manufacturers can’t sell their devices at these rock-bottom prices and still make a profit and if you can’t make a profit, why bother doing it?

Even if they could lower their prices, HP, Acer, Asus, and Dell don’t have the content to compete, and this is where Apple, Amazon, and B&N excel. In order to be successful in this new age of tablets, the makers will have to carry their own ecosystem, which is something Apple and Amazon nailed from day one. HP, Acer, Asus, and Dell would have to license content, which would take even more money off their precious bottom-line .

[via DigiTimes, CNET]

By the looks of things, RIM could score higher in future report cards simply by disclosing more of what it’s doing in particular fields, but as is, this is yet another PR headache BlackBerry could do without. RIM already has investors breathing down their neck for a BlackBerry that doesn’t look like the same thing they launched three years ago, and they’re still doling out free apps for the massive service outage a few weeks ago – do they really need eco-activists picketing the brand too?

You can read up on RIM’s Greenpeace report card over here, or see how the rest of the manufacturers did here.

This is sad because HP is still desperately trying to persuade developers as the future of webOS weighs in the balance, but you can’t knock them for trying. If you’re a die-hard webOS fan this probably leaves you with a glimmer of hope in what seems to be the inevitable demise of such a nice platform. It would be awesome if the dying platform could make one last run with a company who actually knows what it’s doing when it comes to mobile.

That said, those interested in getting one of these tabs will have to file their request before November 18, and if they’re accepted they’ll receive a coupon that must be redeemed before November 27. For more information, hit up the HP source link below.

[HP webOS Developer Center via Engadget ]