Google's Nexus 7 is making a splash this New Year - emerging on eBay at discounted price and being ported with a mobile OS from a bygone era.

Droid Life reported just before 2012 ended that one seller on eBay is offering the Asus-built 7-inch tablet for only $US229, luring buyers not only with discounts of up to $US20 but also with free standard shipping.

Buyers can expect to take delivery of the 32GB between Jan 3 and Jan 9, an approximate target that is applicable to U.S. customers.

Blog reports noted that this particular model is being sold at a higher price in Google Play store, stressing that the eBay offer is one good post-holiday deal especially for those still hunting the hot-selling slate from Goole.

And for those who have been tinkering with the Nexus 7 for quite some time, folks at the webOS Nation are pushing for a new flavour that can be enjoyed with the tablet loved by Android fans for its stock version of the Goole-authored operating system.

If you are brave enough to ditch the latest JellyBean for a moment and allow your Nexus 7 to be controlled by HP's now open source webOS, it is actually a 'fun-filled' proposition realised by a college-aged developer, webOS Nation reported.

This side project led to a functional Nexus 7 being governed by the mobile OS that saw its heydays when Palm was the main name attributed to PDA.

You can view the result of this holiday project by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFwrE9UGie0.

Note that this was a rush work from a young developer in the middle of enjoying his Christmas break while doing some experiments so the Alpha stage remains hobbled by some instability, Android Community said in a report.

But the Nexus 7 on webOS, as the video clip shows, is definitely usable, able to connect on Wi-Fi networks and deliver some internet browsing moments, blog reports said.

"We can expect some serious improvements over the coming weeks and months as long as the developers have the time," Android Community added on its report.

Of course, webOS will not replace Android anytime on any gadgets soon, experts said. This project is just revisiting the glory moments of a system that saw its demise as Apple's iOS and Google's Android started their rise for dominance, they added.