[UPDATE 27/10/11: If you've installed CyanogenMod's Android port for the HP TouchPad, find out how to gain full, unfiltered access to the full Google Android Market in our step-by-step guide here.)

Hewlett Packard's cut-price TouchPad tablet (reviewed here) has proven a stunning bargain, but isn't exactly future-proof: although the company is supporting the device with updates at present, sooner or later webOS development will cease.

That, along with the massively richer third-party development ecosystem, is one of the prime reasons for efforts to port Google's Android platform to the device - efforts which, we're pleased to report, have finally borne fruit.

We previously showed you how to tweak the performance of the standard TouchPad device - now, thanks to a team of enterprising developers, you can install a completely new operating system on the device.

The team, known as 'CyanogenMod' - behind the Android ROM of the same name - has released an early alpha build of a fully-working Android port for the TouchPad, turning it from a tablet running a custom operating system to the world's most powerful sub-£100 Android device.

Before you get too excited, however, there's a few things we have to cover... 

WARNING: Although the current release, Alpha 2, is a 'release candidate,' it's still an alpha release. As a result, it's likely to be full of bugs and comes with absolutely no guarantees whatsoever.

Worse, HP has already confirmed that anyone fiddling with Android on their TouchPad will automatically void their warranties - meaning if you destroy your TouchPad by trying to install Android, HP won't give you a replacement. With no restocking of the UK sales channel likely, that means you lose your nice cheap tablet.

Why bother?
While it's true that the software is in the very early stages, and isn't supported by HP, it's also surprisingly robust: the vast majority of the TouchPad's various functions work just fine under Android, and if things do go wrong it's relatively straightforward to recover your device by using HP's webOS Doctor software.

Installing Android also gives you access to a massive array of software that simply isn't available for webOS, including Gmail, Google Maps, Burn The Rope, Google Books, Marvel Comics and more.

You don't have to give up webOS, either: the installer provided by the CyanogenMod team allows the device to boot into either webOS or Android on demand, meaning you get the best of both worlds.

You're going to have to evaluate the risk for yourself, however: if you can't live without your TouchPad, don't bother installing Android. If you're willing to risk all, read on.

Preparing the TouchPad
Before you leap into the world of Android, it's a good idea to do a few housekeeping chores on your TouchPad to ensure as smooth an installation as possible.

First, charge the battery. While it's possible to install Android without a fully charged battery, keeping it topped up means that there's less risk your tablet running out of juice half-way through the process.

While it's charging, head into the Settings menu and choose 'System Updates.' HP has just released webOS 3.0.4, which brings some much-needed speed improvements to the platform - but installing the update after Android will break the dual-boot functionality. It's fixable, but you'll save yourself some time if you install the update now.

Finally, back up everything you can. The Android installation process is theoretically non-destructive, but it does involve resizing partitions - and that doesn't always end well. If you end up using webOS Doctor, you'll lose your files too - so make sure anything you care about is safely stored elsewhere.

Tags: cyanogenmod port hp touchpad android tablet