No Multitouch?

  1. Dendore

    Dendore Well-Known Member

    What is the deal with Android and Multitouch? I assumed this would have been implemented long ago.

    This is something I am looking for in my next phone. Now if the release version of 2.1 does not include it, but assuming they do add it in lets say 6 months on Android 2.5 with some new touchscreen. Will that be pushed in an OTA update to the Nexus One and Droid, which hardware does support multitouch? Or would I at least be able to flash the rom onto my nexus one?

    I don't mind that my phone can't do something when no other android phone can. But I don't want to be limited.

    I guess to sum up my question, With a hardware capable multitouch screen, Is it just a matter of an update (software? firmware?) to get it to work in browser and google maps? Or do you think they will make it somehow not backwards capatible and we will just need to get a new phone?

  2. Phydeaux

    Phydeaux Well-Known Member

    It's entirely an issue with software.
    Why they haven't enabled is is a matter of debate.
    Whether or not they will enable multi-touch in the future? Who knows, but it seems reasonable that someone will come out with a custom ROM to enable it shortly after the phone releases.
  3. Ruben

    Ruben Well-Known Member

    That's why I am sticking to HTC Sense devices; as it implements multi touch in the browser, mail app, pictures, etc. HTC Bravo is going to have a 1GHz snapdragon processor like the Nexus1, so it might be a good competitor. The only thing I see right now that is miles better than the rumored Bravo is how the Nexus will get updates the day they come out where the Sense devices ...well... won't.
  4. Delude

    Delude Well-Known Member

    Would there be no way of installing Sense onto the Nexus at all? It looks like I will be buying a Nexus, although I do like the idea of having Facebook integrated, and also an emphasis on the 'PHONE' (as it is indeed a mobile phone) instead of having just a regular phone app. (I much prefer the look of Sense UI, but everything else about the Nexus is perfect)
  5. illutionz

    illutionz Well-Known Member

    Starting Android 2.0, Facebook can be synced to your contacts too :)
  6. Ruben

    Ruben Well-Known Member

    Yes. There will be a ROM that will give you sense UI... eventually. I mean, it's already rooted so I don't see why you wouldn't get it soon. Keep in mind that the it never works and nice as the real Sense, but I'm sure very soon that it will be perfected.
  7. it is a fact that everyone prefers multi-touch.
    it is a fact that pinch/zoom is superior to the +/- icon in the lower rt corner of the browser
    it is a fact that multi-touch is superior to double-click-to-zoom.
    it is a fact that ALL android phones are capable of supporting multi-touch.

    google has never come out with an official explanation for the lack of multi-touch and therefore people continue debating and guessing the explanation of this paradox. at this point, everyone should see the writing on the wall: legalities between apple and google preclude google from using multi-touch technology in android devices. google has not said that publicly but it's almost axiomatic at this point.

    so to answer your question, there is a 99% chance that there will never be multi-touch on a google-experience android device. now it is true that rooting your phone would enable you to install ROMs that include multi-touch, but don't expect an iphone 3gs-like experience. the multi-touch on these ROMs is no where near that of an iphone.
  8. Ruben

    Ruben Well-Known Member

    It's funny how HTC doesn't even care.

    I don't see how this could be a legal issue? Explain. Google is pretty much screwing apple with their new phone coming out very very soon.
  9. Phydeaux

    Phydeaux Well-Known Member

    Therein lies the problem, we can't explain it. Therefore we can only assume it's some sort of convoluted legal BS that Google, for whatever reason, chooses not to get into.

    Perhaps the issue will be brought up at their unveiling on the 5th.
  10. chaoscentral

    chaoscentral Well-Known Member

    Really now? I'm sure with the fact that there are 2.1 Sense devices coming out, that porting isn't going to be difficult, especially when a system dump from the bravo is released. When I load up a Hero rom on my G1 it is real sense. So why are you saying it'll never work as nice as the real Sense? I got flash player, I got multitouch pinch zoom, I got Facebook contact sync, and everything else. It is 100% Sense UI running on my G1 with no issues, so I don't think "it'll never work as nice as the real Sense" is even a correct statement when it is infact REAL Sense UI.

    Just my 2 cents on that matter. Only thing that really has an effect between Sense on my G1 and Sense on a Hero is the fact a Hero has about 92MB more RAM and double the ROM, but that's more a hardware issue than anything.
  11. alostpacket

    alostpacket Over Macho Grande? VIP Member

    Says who?
  12. Markdental

    Markdental Well-Known Member

    That just made me very excited about the possibility of Sense on the Nexus.
  13. chaoscentral

    chaoscentral Well-Known Member

    Also on a side note, why does this thread exsist again? The Nexus One DOES HAVE MULTITOUCH, It has been implemented in Android since 2.0

    The stock applications are the only thing that don't have multitouch, but any app you download from the market that has been coded for multitouch works fine on the Nexus One like Dolphin Browser's pinch zoom and PicSay Photo Editor/Viewer has pinch zoom as well. It's not that the phone can't do it, because it clearly can. What you want to be doing is complaining to google and tell them to update their applications.

    What really kind of annoys me is that Google Maps on iPhone is pinch zoom, as well as Google Maps on the HTC HD2, so why not Android yet?
  14. ManMythLegend

    ManMythLegend Well-Known Member

    lol since so many thoughts are being smashed around heres mine !

    1. Multi Touch in browser is OVERRATED!!.
    The way Android default and 3rd party browsers format text MT is an after thought. A double tap results in much quicker "setting" of the page to what you want to read/view.

    2. MultiTouch in Gallery/Maps/Keyboard is extremely underrated.
    This is where MT and Pinch/Zoom become almost mandatory. Once youve experienced an Iphone picture gallery/maps Android seems clunkly. Even 3rd party apps cant get it to run as ridiculously smooth as Iphone.

    3. Default = No MT.
    Dont bother telling people its multi touch. Sadly most people Ive seen with Android phones never bother to search the market. Something obscene like 60% of smartphone users never install "system replacement apps". Browsers , Galleries , IM/SMS clients are going to be judged by what comes out of the box. (sadly).

    Many of these things can be enabled in with custom ROMs but a miniscule amount of people actually bother with this. Regardless of what forums may lead you to think.

    4. Rom communities thusfar are ahead of the game. Sense UI + Android 2.0 has been out for awhile. Experimental...but available.
    You really should think of the Nexus one and any android phone as a hardware device only. Android runs best with secondary community enhancements.
    MT , FB , Sense UI etc... can all be had with the dev community.
  15. quantumrand

    quantumrand Well-Known Member

    I really want to punch people who confuse Pinch-to-zoom with Multitouch! I can't think of a single Android Phone that doesnt have multitouch actually. There's plenty of third party apps that even do pinch to zoom.

    Multitouch includes FAR more than just pinch to zoom. Things like two-finger gesturing for example. The HTC Hero has this as well as Pinch-to-zoom, and the N1 has all the hardware necessary to do the same.
  16. illutionz

    illutionz Well-Known Member

    Well, I guess you have to punch a lot of people in this world because many of them thought that Multitouch is pinch to zoom... Plus many people would not download replacement apps like Dolphin Browser and for them the multitouch doesn't exist since none of the google stock apps do that (eg: browser, keyboards, etc).

    Sometimes, when company market a product, it's not what the product itself can do but how it does it and the overall implementation. What makes you think Internet Explorer is still holding 60%+ marketshare and we all know how terrible terrible terrible terrible (have to do it 3 times to illustrate the shittiness :eek:) it is. Apple iPhone is a successful product because not only it has the latest technology, but for most people, there is no need to install additional apps or to jailbreak to get the basic features (really the only thing missing from stock iPhone is customization such as themes or background wallpaper).

    For us, enthusiasts, it is funny and sometimes unthinkable why someone can't fathom the concept of multitouch is more than pinch and zoom but we are the minority in the market... What about the average joe who walks up to the store and wanna buy an android phone? These people are the big chunk of the market and in order for android to be huge, we can't just snub them and say "hey you're stupid go download x, y, z apps and root your phone with modded ROM to add sense UI and multitouch"
  17. android_goes

    android_goes Member

    I would like to add hear that Google has NO legal issues with multi touch. They just do not want to implement it at the moment.
  18. KlaymenDK

    KlaymenDK Well-Known Member

    That's just it, the hardware is fine, but Apple has some obstructing patents on multi-finger UI. Recall that Apple and Palm are in a sort of patents trench war stalemate (1), (2); I'm not surprised that Google is steering clear of that whole mess until the mustard gas has wafted off.

    Exactly (only, I think it would be more appropriate to pinch them). Pinch-zooming is basically working on the 'size of the fingerprint', where unpinching actually just enlarges a single fingerprint. True multi-touch would really help in speed typing on the virtual keyboard: you don't have to release one key before hitting the next; and key combinations (with shift and symbol) could work the way you'd expect, lessening the need for keyboard modes.
  19. explain? cannot explain! that's why it's legal.

    google is not screwing up apple. NO one can screw up apple; microsoft with all of its clout could not. N1 is not going to do that well. google screws its android users by giving the iphone a maps app that has snazzy pins and MT support and denying it to us.

    if android is screwing anybody, it would be microsoft and palm, def not apple. android is not even making a dent in apple's market share. in fact, if i were an iphone user or someone who does not mind switching to At & t, i don't see a cogent reason to purchase an android device.
  20. valid!!!!! but i highly doubt that. google might screen the questions or they might ask people not to bring up the subject.
  21. works fine yes. works as speedy as native counterparts? not so sure. fine and snappy are two different animals.
    speed comes first; everything else is second. i'd rather have a snappy phone that does not have MT enabled than a turtle phone that has MT enabled.
    therefore, picsay and dolphin are not valid options for me and people like me.
  22. what about people like me, who experiment with phonebook, handcent, superdial, dolphin, steel, opera ("system replacement apps") and then uninstall them because they slow the phone? are we punchable, pinchable, or stupid? IMHO, apps that slow the system are not valid options. those 60% you're mentioning are normal people who want their phones to function as phones: snappy when you need to make an urgent phone call. snappy when you wanna find a contact.
    SMS, contacts, browser...etc are essential apps related to essential functions so if these are not optimized when the device comes out of the box, then i dont know what is. Google MUST optimize the essentials. yes, i should download 3'd party apps for farting, drink-mixing, photo-editing, finding where car was parked, where the hottest party is, or how to knot a tie, but we should not be left scrambling like chickens trying to find a 3d party app for our contact list or sms. also, once you install these "system replacement apps", you better enjoy seeing the "complete action using..." pop-up because it's going to appear very frequently even if you tell stupid android what you want as default.

    "miniscule amount of people actually bother with this. ........" you are absolutely right but for very good reasons.
    normal people are busy; normal people are neither geeks, nor monkeys, they are somewhere in between. they neither have the time or the know-how to root their devices. also, people are cautious when it comes to the likelihood of bricking their devices and thus loosing their hard-earned money.

    now let's look at the risks and benefits of rooting your device:
    risks: time-consuming; likelihood of bricking device...not fun!!!

    install most up to date android version....what? u that impatient cannot wait for official OTA update?
    store apps on SD card.....what? is that going to make the phone faster?
    install custom ROMs..... what? do you really want that sense-ui twitter widget that badly? or that tacky open home stuff? custom ROMs are kluggy and tend to slow down the phone. so what? now you go ahead and root your phone to install the milestone's firmware...that's it? you think you'll get a pinch/zoom experience as smooth as that of an iphone? hellz no, and current milestone users will attest to that.

    sorry but the benefits don't justify the risks.

    custom-ROM-enabled-MT is not as smooth as native-ROM-enabled MT. "system replacement apps" are not as fast as native apps.
    go ahead and root to get second-rate MT. go ahead and install phonebook, dolphin...etc to get a slower phone. either way, you'll end up with an unpolished, mish-mash second rate phone. how long will we tolerate second rate google maps and second rate "google phones"?
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