Some HP Touchpads came pre-loaded with Android

MAKER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK HP might have shipped some cut priced Touchpads with Android instead of its own WebOS.

We already knew about developers porting Android to the Touchpad tablet but it seems that some might have come with it pre-loaded instead of WebOS. HP has denied that this happened but is investigating the issue further.

An email from Phil Robb, director of the open source program office at HP said, "As for the Touchpad units that have been allegedly purchased with a version of Android on them, we have begun an internal investigation on this within HP. We have confirmed that HP never authorized the distribution of any version of Android on the HP Touchpad."

The alleged devices total three that were bought from Best Buy and Walmart. The email is a reply to developers requesting source code because they believe HP is under a legal obligations under the general public license (GPL) to provide it.

Robb declined the request but didn't deny the existence of the code, saying, "Regarding your specific request for source code below, I must decline at the present time. HP has never authorized the distribution of any binaries for Android in association with the HP Touchpad."

Robb suggests that the devices were given Android by someone unknown, saying, "we believe that all Touchpad units have been shipped out of manufacturing with the webOS operating system only, and that no Touchpad units were shipped with Android, even by mistake. Hence, we presently believe that some person or persons unknown may have facilitated the delivery of these Android-based units strictly against the policy and authorization of HP."

The Touchpads were bought from respected retailers in sealed boxes, as you would expect. We assume that Best Buy and Walmart received the Touchpads straight from HP, so it's a mystery as to how and why Android would be the operating system found on them straight out of the box. µ