Way back if you remember when Palm was around, they introduced a new operating system called WebOS, and brought out a few smartphones running the new OS that didn’t do too well, and basically brought about the demise of Palm. HP then took up the WebOS gauntlet releasing the HP Touchpad, which again failed to capture the interest of the mobile space until they held a fire sale to get rid of the device. After that HP released an open source version of the platform called Open webOS.

So now it appears that the failing platform is trying to make a comeback in the mobile space with Phoenix International Communications working to get Open webOS running as an app on existing Android devices without having to modify the device.

WebOS Ports homebrew team is working on porting Open webOS to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as a separate OS; however Phoenix is attempting to use Open webOS on top of Android so that a user can run both at the same time rather than booting into one or the other.

Phoneix has already shown Open webOS as an app on an Android device but when attempting to get past the lockscreen it crashed. But not to be outbeaten, Phoenix has now made more progress with Open webOS, managing to get past the lockscreen and run on a test Samsung Nexus S.

Phoenix has put out a video of Open webOS running on the Nexus S 4G, which you can watch below, although the project is still pre-alpha, and there is still quite a bit of work to be done, as the sluggishness and shuttering in the footage shows.

Apparently the project still has to be launched through Terminal commands just like the WebOS Ports port, however Phoenix is planning on implementing a launcher icon on Android eventually, whilst borrowing a few elements from the open source work done by WebOS Ports team.

Phoenix is volunteer driven and is currently looking for people with skills in working on both the Android operating system and the Linux kernel along with the GNU toolchain, so if you would like to lend a hand with the project you can show your interest by visiting their website.