If you failed to pick up an HP TouchPad a few months ago when it was available for 100 bucks (granted, only for a couple of hours), you can today take advantage of a special deal and get the 10-inch tablet for… well, for a lot more.

For 169.99 dollars, to be more exact, which is a lot more than the ‘’yard sale’’ price from when HP discontinued the gadget, but is significantly less than what this gadget goes for on most online stores right now.

Sure, the TouchPad you will get from Woot for $169.99 is a refurbished 16 GB model, but I personally am thinking to get one, as the CyanogenMod guys are almost done with their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich port.

After all, if the CM brilliant minds will manage to get the job done in the near future (and chances are they will), you will end up with an elegant and snappy tablet running Droid ICS. The TouchPad, for those of you who don’t know or have forgotten, is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and features WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1.3 MPx front-facing camera, as well a pretty strong battery, capable of around six or seven hours of running time between charges.

The 9.7-inch IPS wide viewing-angle screen is itself very nice, featuring a 1024 x 768 pixels resolution and all in all, for 170 bucks, this is a darn fine piece of technology equipment!

Also, if you are afraid that you will pick up a faulty slate from Woot, as it comes refurbished, you should not worry very much, because you get a 90 day warranty from the producer.

Finally, if 16 GB of internal storage space is not enough for you, the guys at Woot have the 32 GB HP TouchPad on sale as well, going for 219.99 dollars. Again, that seems like a very nice deal, at least as far as I’m concerned, so get them while they’re hot and while they’re not sold out (pardon the childish rhyme, it was unintentional)!

Ever since we first laid eyes on Android Ice Cream Sandwich’s look, we fell in love hopeless and completely, which is why we are craving for an Android 4.0 gadget of our own. But what if you could have that simple and elegant ICS look on your Windows 7 desktop right now, without the need to purchasing the Asus Transformer Prime or a device of its kind?

I know it sounds impossible in theory, but with the help of Flickr user David Molina and the guys at Lifehacker.com, you can now do just that pretty easy. Well, it’s not exactly easy, as you will need no less than ten apps and components to get to the final cool look that you can see below, but it’s doable nevertheless.

The first thing you need is an Ice Cream Sandwich wallpaper, which can be downloaded from WallBase. Secondly, you will have to tweak the taskbar with the APPOWS2010 theme for Windows 7 from DeviantArt, and then you are only eight steps away from mixing the Android 4.0 simplicity with the Win7 functionality.

I’m not going to walk you through every step of this delicate operation, but if you are interested and/or intrigued by the pic below, you can hit this article’s source link and get all the instructions you need.

I myself don’t think I’m going to go through with this whole process and operation, even though I am a big fan of ICS’s look, for one simple reason. I’m lazy as heck and don’t want to install and download ten different apps and components!

What about you, are you tempted to go through with it (and diligent enough?) or aren’t you as impressed as I am with the desktop combining Android 4.0 and Windows 7 shown below?

Via LifeHacker.com

Just hours after finding out that the CyanogenMod family includes more than one million users, we are happy to inform you that the brilliant minds from CM are very close of releasing what should be their take on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HP TouchPad.

The 10-inch tablet from HP was discontinued last year due to low sale, and for months we were promised a working Android version on the TouchPad. The CM7 update, released in September 2011, was functional, but had way too many glitches to be considered satisfying by most TouchPad owners today, so a CM9 update was said to come soon, based on Android ICS.

Well, the CM9 is not exactly finished, but the CyanogenMod team has just teased us with a video showing their progress. Aside from the camera and video, everything seems to be working and the update looks promising as heck.

Of course, the software seems laggy here and there, but that’s to be expected, considering that what is shown in the video is only a pre-alpha version. And for a pre-alpha software version, the system boots pretty quick, Angry Birds plays ok, the Wireless and Bluetooth are fully functional, so all in all we have on our hands something to wait and crave for. And by ‘’we’’ I mean you lucky bastards who managed to get your hands on the HP TouchPad when it only went for 100 dollars.

No ‘’release’’ date has been revealed by the CM team for the CM9 update for HP TouchPad, but we know that the brilliant minds from CyanogenMod are ‘’well on their way in terms of progress’’ and hope to give us ‘’something to play with soon’’.

What say you, HP TouchPad owners? Are you as excited as I am for a scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich on your tablet? Or will you pass on the software, fearful for glitches and system instabilities?

Oh, right, I almost forgot. Here’s the video showing the CM9 progress so far:

Via AndroidPolice.com

In my best of 2011 round-up, I noted that more than 900,000 Android devices are currently running the custom software known as CyanogenMod. Don’t look now, but that number is actually more than 1 million now.

Steve Kondik – also known as Cyanogen, the founder of the popular ROM and its namesake – announced last night that the CM family of ROM’s now includes more than 1 million devices. Counting officially supported phones and “kangs” that use CM as the basis for other custom ROM’s, there’s a sizable population of people who have opted to root their phones and see what the CM team can do.

As someone whose G1 lasted months longer than it had any reason to, and whose EVO often ditched Sense for the lighter and custom-friendly version of CyanogenMod, this news doesn’t surprise me at all. The team of developers and contributors known as Team Douche have done some amazing things with Android. There’s a reason CyanogenMod is far and away one of the most recognized and used ROM’s in Android.

A look at the CyanogenMod Stats page shows that the most popular version of the software is 7.1.0, which has 238,00 users. The most popular device is the HTC Desire (codename Bravo) at more than 80,000 users.

Congrats to all of CM on the success.

[Google+] via AndroidAndMe

Boot animations rarely garner much attention from me. Since I changed ROM’s so often on my EVO, I stopped caring about the animations seen when a phone powers on. Heck, I haven’t even rooted my Galaxy Nexus yet!

But every now and then, I come across something that gets me thinking of boot animations. The latest event to catch my eye is an animation based on The IT Crowd, a British comedy TV show about two lovable IT workers and the head of their department who knows practically nothing about computers. (Check Netflix and fall in love with the show.) Androinica reader and fellow IT Crowd fan Jeremy made a simple animation of the show’s opening credits and shared it with us on Google+, so now we’re passing it along to you.

The animation is a simple clip of two stars of the show hacking away (literally) at a computer. There’s a video clip at of the animation at the source link, so you can see the smile-inducing clip. Jeremy also sent over a download link to 1280 x 720 resolution animation in case anyone wants to load it up on their phone. A readme file is included with instructions.

Like we always say in all matters concerning root, modifying, and tinkering with your phone, you perform these tasks at your own risk. Follow Jeremy on Google+ and say hi if you want to get older versions that may be compatible with other phones.

[Google+] Thanks, Jeremy!

Samsung Vibrant owners who love CyanogenMod will not see any new ROM’s, at least for the foreseeable future, from Team Douche. CM Forum Moderator ciwrl announced yesterday that development for the Samsung Vibrant has ceased due to an issue with dialing 911 Emergency services. The statement posted on the CM Vibrant forum reads

We are no longer supporting the Vibrant due to the inability to dial 911. We consider the issues related to this unresolvable without source code from Samsung related to the Radio interface layer and its interactions with the Audio layers and have taken the decision to no longer support this. We apologize for the inconvenience and strongly suggest that Vibrant users use a Samsung ROM due to the 911 issues with any ROMs based on open source code.

The problem stems from the way that the Vibrant handle call routing to 911. There are “patches” that make it possible to dial 911, but audio issues prevent the operator from hearing the caller. Figuring out the proper way to have custom builds dial emergency services require reverse engineering that has so far proved fruitless, so support for the Vibrant has been dropped. (Things could change with more information.)

ciwrl elaborated on his Google+ page that the risk of a CM user – or one using the ROM’s based on CM work – being unable to communicate with a 911 operator in the event of an emergency is too great to continue supporting the device. “The consequences of an actual emergency situation going wrong are not one we want to be a part of,” ciwrl posted.

The only other Samsung device known to face this issue is the Samsung Epic 4G. Adnan Begovic, a ROM developer working on the build for that device, states that reverse engineering to discover a fix “is now the primary concern for the group working on the Epic 4G build.” As disappointing as that may sound to some users who were anxious to use CM9 on their device, Begovic poignantly states why this is a necessary step, writing “I do not want to be a reason someone loses life or limb because they cannot get the proper emergency services.”

The entire reason that Amazon and Barnes & Noble sell their Android tablets for such low prices is because the companies intend to lock buyers into their systems and sell content. But because Android users aren’t much for being locked in, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that someone would find a way to get content beyond the gardens of Amazon and B&N.

The Amazon Kindle Fire can actually install the Android Market. A rooted Fire can sideload apps, including the Vending.apk file that serves as the Market. BriefMobile has a guide explaining the process of getting Vending.apk onto a device, so follow the instructions here. Keep in mind that the full weight of the Android Market may not be available to you, but this could be a nice workaround for getting apps not in Amazon’s store or downloading the apps you already purchased on another Android device.

On the Nook Tablet side of things, you can also sideload apps, including the Amazon Appstore. Members at XDA discovered that the Nook supports downloading apps through the web, so users can download an .apk and enable “Unknown sources” for installation. Since the Amazon Appstore is an .apk, that means you can actually put that on the Nook Tablet. (I’m guessing you can try to get the Market on there as well but I’d wait for confirmation before trying.) The Digital Reader has a step-by-step guide with instructions here.

I can’t help but wonder if companies expected this or will try to proactively block this from happening with updates. Amazon and B&N don’t make money by selling the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, but they do make money when you buy apps, books, magazines, and videos. The root community should be a small enough audience for them not to hurt too much, but you never know. Either way, enjoy your new device that’s suddenly become a lot more powerful.

Well, would you look at that: Google went and got itself a real-life music store. After months of only letting users upload their existing music collections to Google Music Beta, music fans can now increase their listening options directly through the Android Market.

Google Music is now open to everyone in the United States thanks to a simple solution for purchasing songs and albums through the new Android Market website. After viewing today’s demo and going over the details, I decided to take the new music store for a spin to rate the purchasing process.

Spoiler alert: it’s as easy as advertised, but could do with a tad bit more complication. I searched for an artist, listened to the previews, gave Google permission to deduct $10 bucks from the credit card it already has on file, and my music was immediately available in my Google Music locker. Buying an album essentially opens access to the pre-stored files and lets users listen to a song or record within seconds of purchase.

The easy process is beneficial but there’s also an obvious drawback – where are my MP3′s in case I want to move to a non-Android device? Well, you’ll need to mark them as available for offline storage, navigate to your cache folder, and discover that the files are all stored as RandomNumberHere.mp3. It’s an organization nightmare for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to the cloud. For the folks who haven’t jumped ship for Pandora, Spotify, and the like, purchasing albums is about controlling your music collection. How can we do that with confidence if Google doesn’t provide easy access to the files we just purchased? For many, it might make more sense to keep purchasing from Amazon and uploading to Google through the auto-download desktop tool. UPDATE: Thanks to Cynic for pointing out that you can download all your recently purchased tracks using the Google Music desktop app that has been updated to enable that feature. Google’s set-up is not as simple as some rivals, but it’s a lot better than we originally thought.

I’ve seen people call this Google’s alternative to iTunes but that’s not exactly true. iTunes sells you a song and then puts the onus on you to store it and load it or use iTunes Cloud. Google Music simply starts the stream and lets you share with friends on Google Plus. It’s a fantastic solution for people who commit to the cloud – Google’s cloud to be specific – but it takes a little bit more work if you want easy portability and control of your music. Here’s a quick video I put together of the purchasing process and a look at the Market website.

Believe it or not, recording video on your cellphone can land you in legal trouble in certain places. In various locales across the United States, laws have been or are being introduced that could make it a crime to record what happens in public.

Law enforcement agents are able to go after people recording in public using old anti-wiretap laws that make it illegal to record audio without someone’s permission – even if this takes place on the street. Most high-profile cases of this “felony eavesdropping” involve people recording dealings with police officers or others in a position of authority, which has then lead to court cases like this and this. A recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision affirmed the right to film in public places, but you could still face some trouble depending on your location. Check your state and local laws for clarity on the issue.

In order to avoid the anti-wiretapping loophole, users can sometimes disable audio recording from their video. It doesn’t always make sense to leave out the dialogue, but for anyone who lives in a place where two-party consent is required for capturing audio, this could be a workaround. I failed to discover a decent camcorder app with this option, but it is built-in to select Android devices. There is no consistency with this among camera apps, so a Samsung Infuse might have the option but a Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T doesn’t.

TIP: If your phone doesn’t support optional audio, perhaps you can sign-up for Qik or USTREAM, which broadcast your recording live to the Internet and archive it immediately afterward. It still may run afoul of the law, but it will provide a backup of your video should someone try to take a phone and delete the recording.

HTC Sense UI

Go to the Camcorder app and press the “Menu” button, then uncheck “Record with Audio.”

Motorola UI

Start recording a video and you should see an on-screen button in the bottom that says “Mute.” Tap that and audio will no longer be recorded.

LG UI

Switch to video in the camera app and there should be a gear icon in the corner. Tap it and scroll down to the Audio option, then mute it.

Samsung UI

Click the gear icon near the corner. On the following screen, tap the wrench icon and deselect the Audio recording option.

Android Market reviews can often be a crapshoot in relevance and being resourceful, so we welcome any attempt to improve the way that they are displayed. The Android Market Website was recently updated to highlight more relevant comments and filter according to certain categories.

Artem at AndroidPolice notes that market.android.com entries now allow users to sort by Date, Rating, and Helpfulness. Users can get to this filter by clicking the “Read All Reviews” link at the bottom of an app listing. On the following page, a “Sort by___” drop-down menu then provides the aforementioned options to switch things up.

This immediately address three key problems that once plagued the Market:

• Reviews will be chronological and most-recent, which should end the out-of-sync and outdated comments of the previous version.
• Users can see the highest-ranked reviews if they want to get a glimpse of the people most happy. Unfortunately, this feature is pretty worthless on a popular app because there are thousands of 5-star reviews and no way to filter to see more tempered or angry responses. I’d love to see an “Only 3 star” filter like what Amazon’s product store offers.
• Helpfulness will potentially help weed out the trolls. Whenever someone leaves a valuable comment, other users can leave a thumbs up or down to voice their approval. The helpfulness option pushes the most-approved comments to the top.

Start downloading apps to see these filters in play. It won’t solve all the problems that we have with the Android Market, but Google seems to be advancing. And when it comes time to leave your comments, remember our rules for market etiquette.