Multitouch rumored to come with Android 2.0

[talkbackdroid]

One of the things that most of us want to see on any touchscreen smartphone is multi-touch capability. Android has been missing multi-touch since it debuted and it is high on the list of features that many Android users want.



CNET reports that multi-touch may finally hit the Android OS in time for the... Read more

[OKC-G1]

I hate to be debby downer...but nobody is gonna believe any more rumors, until its no longer a rumor but a reality!

but, good post though

[uansari1]

Um... yeah, it's enabled in Donut. We've already got it incorporated into some of the custom roms at xda.

[extorian]

I recall watching a video interview on YouTube with Google about Android, where Google clearly stated that the touch screen on the G1 does NOT support multi-touch, and hence they won't be adding support to Cupcake (remember, we went through the whole "Multi-touch support coming to Android" rumours a few months ago too).

The pinch-zooming we see in various videos and on custom firmwares is different. What the screen can do is figure out the size of the area being pressed. So, when you touch it with two fingers it looks like a very big press (e.g. a "blob" the diameter of the distance between the two fingers). Hence, you can provide a poor-man's version of multi-touch and pinch zooming by exploiting this. There is still only one touch point, even with two fingers, it just looks bigger. I imagine what you're seeing in the picture above is exactly that - the most distant points on the "blob" being found and presented to the user as two distinct points, when it isn't. What would happen with 3 or 4 fingers for example? I bet it wouldn't work...

The above is very different from true multi-touch which can figure out multiple discrete touch points. For example, there's a Piano app for the iPhone, that allows you to press multiple keys at the same time. You could never do this on the G1. At least, if what I remember is correct anyway.

I'm sure Google will add support for multi-touch to Android, just like they added support for the "Proximity Sensor" which the G1 doesn't have either (iirc the Samsung or Motorola does), but that doesn't mean the G1 will suddenly get multi-touch. Future phones are bound to have better screens.

I could be remembering this wrongly, but I'll believe true multi-touch on the G1 when I see it.

[Derrick]

You have a link to that video extorian because I have heard from many different sources tha the G1 does have multi-touch capabilities. Sill your theory would explain why the multi-touch on the hacked ROMs are pretty bad.

[konzern]

I recall watching a video interview on YouTube with Google about Android, where Google clearly stated that the touch screen on the G1 does NOT support multi-touch, and hence they won't be adding support to Cupcake (remember, we went through the whole "Multi-touch support coming to Android" rumours a few months ago too).

The pinch-zooming we see in various videos and on custom firmwares is different. What the screen can do is figure out the size of the area being pressed. So, when you touch it with two fingers it looks like a very big press (e.g. a "blob" the diameter of the distance between the two fingers). Hence, you can provide a poor-man's version of multi-touch and pinch zooming by exploiting this. There is still only one touch point, even with two fingers, it just looks bigger. I imagine what you're seeing in the picture above is exactly that - the most distant points on the "blob" being found and presented to the user as two distinct points, when it isn't. What would happen with 3 or 4 fingers for example? I bet it wouldn't work...

The above is very different from true multi-touch which can figure out multiple discrete touch points. For example, there's a Piano app for the iPhone, that allows you to press multiple keys at the same time. You could never do this on the G1. At least, if what I remember is correct anyway.

I'm sure Google will add support for multi-touch to Android, just like they added support for the "Proximity Sensor" which the G1 doesn't have either (iirc the Samsung or Motorola does), but that doesn't mean the G1 will suddenly get multi-touch. Future phones are bound to have better screens.

I could be remembering this wrongly, but I'll believe true multi-touch on the G1 when I see it.

not too long ago i read that the company who makes the screens for the g1 and magic said that all their screens are capable of multi touch

[kurupt213]

yh the g1 is definately capable of MT, if you've ever used a hero rom and played with the MT in the gallery app it works kinda like the iPhone, it zooms into a specific area depending on where you are "pinching"

[extorian]

You have a link to that video extorian

Nope - I tried looking for this video a few weeks ago for another thread too. I'll try again on a minute...

it works kinda like the iPhone, it zooms into a specific area depending on where you are "pinching"

Exactly what I said... you can "pinch"... i.e. with two fingers and it can figure out when they're moved apart or together because the screen sees on big press that gets bigger and smaller. This is very different from real multi-touch like I explained.

With the G1 - from what I understand (and like I said, I could have misunderstood the video, it could have been fake, etc) this is the best a G1 can do. True multi-touch would allow you to press all five fingers of your hand onto the screen and the phone would see 5 small presses. What the G1 would see is one huge blob roughly the shape of what you'd get if you draw lines around all of your fingers making a rough circle.

I'll have another look now... if I haven't reported back in an hour I couldn't find it

[extorian]

I found a related article... maybe I imagined it was a video...

Item 2 on this link:
http://androidandme.com/2009/05/guid...ered-volume-6/

And the 3rd section of this link:
http://androidandme.com/2009/05/news...ked-questions/

I think both articles sourced their information from this page:

http://lukehutch.wordpress.com/2009/...-tinfoil-hats/

Edit: The video I referred to can be found on the first of the three links in the "root" section. I haven't re-watched it, so if that doesn't mention multi-touch I probably imagined the Google team commented on multi-touch based on the the textual part of the other pages.

[kurupt213]

Nope - I tried looking for this video a few weeks ago for another thread too. I'll try again on a minute...



Exactly what I said... you can "pinch"... i.e. with two fingers and it can figure out when they're moved apart or together because the screen sees on big press that gets bigger and smaller. This is very different from real multi-touch like I explained.

With the G1 - from what I understand (and like I said, I could have misunderstood the video, it could have been fake, etc) this is the best a G1 can do. True multi-touch would allow you to press all five fingers of your hand onto the screen and the phone would see 5 small presses. What the G1 would see is one huge blob roughly the shape of what you'd get if you draw lines around all of your fingers making a rough circle.

I'll have another look now... if I haven't reported back in an hour I couldn't find it

it works differently on the hero rom than it does on the normal MT roms. It doesnt see the 2 fingers as a blob on the hero rom. as you can zoom into specific area and not just centred zoom