First it was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that played host to Open webOS, and now it looks like another Nexus device has been tweaked to run the open source version of HP's mobile operating system. WebOS Ports team member Simon Busch, also known as "morphis," has gotten Open webOS up and running on the Nexus 7 and has posted a video showing the device in action. The port is said to be in the alpha stage, but the clip shows the Open webOS-ified Nexus 7 connected to Wi-Fi, having its brightness setting altered, browsing the web and typing up a brief memo. Included in the port is a software keyboard and a glowing webOS gesture area where the Android navigation keys would normally appear.
While there's a little stutter here and there, which is to be expected with an alpha release, the port looks to be working pretty well so far. The work is especially impressive when you consider that Busch completed the task over his Christmas Break. It's certainly been a long time since webOS fans have had any new hardware to play with, and it looks like it'll be a while before HP releases a new handset of its own, so it's good to see the webOS community taking things into its own hands and bringing Open webOS to more devices. You can check out the demo of Open webOS running on the Nexus 7 below.
Via webOS Nation, webOS Ports