5 Devices That Don’t Come With Android You Can Install It On

You can find Android running on unusual gadgets. and because of its open nature, hackers like to port different devices to it. This means that you can often give old gadgets a new lease of life simply by installing the latest version of Google’s operating system.

But this is not a general rule, and you still need to know which devices have been extensively tested and reported to work well with Android, as well as what are the easiest and most reliable installation methods. After all, you don’t want to brick your device. Here are five devices you can easily install Android on.

HP touchpad

When HP decided to drop the price of their webOS-based touchpad tablet, everyone jumped on it, and pretty soon the internet had a way to install Android on it. Over time, the process has been fine-tuned to be stable enough that there are no problems with the device, and the CyanogenMod staff is constantly updating it with new versions. There are still bugs in the KitKat build, so we would suggest moving to Jelly Bean.

• No longer available for purchase
• Android Touch Installation Guide HP Android Touch
• Discussion/Help Forum: CyanogenMod Forum

Acer Iconia W700 (and any Windows 8 tablet)

You can improve the app ecosystem on your Windows 8 tablet by dual-booting Android on it, and this is perhaps the easiest of all the Android installation processes in this article. Keep in mind that you will need an Intel chipset such as the Acer Iconia W700 that Christian used in his guide or in the Microsoft Surface — this will not work on an ARM chip like the Microsoft Surface RT. Also, don’t forget to google for your specific model’s Android installation before you start.

• Acer Iconia W700: $799.99 from Amazon, $798.99 from eBay
• Guide to installing Android on most Windows 8 tablets
• Discussion/Help Forum: XDA Developer Forums

Any netbook

Image credit: xmacex

The Android-x86 project to run the operating system on older Intel-based devices can give your netbook a new lease of life, especially if it has a touch screen like the HP Pavilion 10. Justin’s guide makes this complex process much easier, plus you get support for all apps in the Google Play store. There are no flaws here!

• Any netbook will do, but touch screens are better. You can try the HP Pavilion 10 ($279.99 from Amazon)
• Guide to installing Android on netbooks
• Discussion Forum / Help: Android-x86 Google Group

HTC HD2 (and other Windows Mobile phones)

Android doesn’t run smoothly on any Windows Phone 7 device, such as the Nokia Lumia series, but older Windows Mobile phones can be turned into Android phones. And the HTC HD2 is a great example of this. The smartphone is already over 4 years old, but its unofficial development is still going uphill: the developers even released Android 4.4 KitKat version for it, albeit with Wi-Fi and 3G bugs. However, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean are stable (JB still has Wi-Fi and radio issues on some models, so check before installing). Also, this does not only apply to HTC HD2 and can be played on multiple HTC Windows Mobile phones.