Hobbyist brings multitouch to the Nokia 5800, doesn't fix 3G reception
Okay, yes, pardon the headline -- we're a little fired up about the 5800's 3G situation at the moment, and at a time like this, nothing soothes the soul quite like some awesome hackery. Self-described "homebrew coder" Jamie Fuller has somehow magically turned the singletouch 5800 into a multitouch device, delivering a proof of concept in the form of a Guitar Hero-style game requiring cat-like thumb reflexes in response to the beat of one of the best songs we've ever heard. Considering that neither the hardware nor the software technically support multitouch here, it's a hell of a feat -- and it's also proof that hope springs eternal for even the most seemingly hopeless limitations of your favorite gadget, no matter what that gadget might be. The developer says that the app will eventually be available for free once it's further along, and in the meantime, he needs some beta testers and help with graphics -- you know, something beyond colored circles -- so if the dream of putting two fingers on your 5800's screen at the same time keeps you awake at night, you might consider pitching in. Follow the break for a video demo.
[Via Symbian Freak, thanks mj]
[Via Symbian Freak, thanks mj]
























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wingphil @ Mar 3rd 2009 8:15AM
Does anyone know if this is true multitouch or if he's just getting the "average" i.e. central point and radius?
Matt W @ Mar 3rd 2009 8:57AM
isn't the 5800 a resistive touch screen?
daki @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:37PM
The resistive touch screen has no problems with multitouch, so yupp it's resistive.
boss-hogg @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:01PM
The 3G issue with this device seems to be only the NY and CHI markets.
cj @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:16PM
fix the 3g and send out the pre orders i want my phone now. :-(
Bill @ Mar 3rd 2009 5:56PM
"......to the beat of one of the best songs we've ever heard" Are you serious? That song sucked Engadget! The development is wonderful but come on with the statement about the music.
ninjatales @ Mar 4th 2009 1:03AM
Guitar hero? More like Alien hero. Seriously though, Nokia needs to get multi-touch to it's touch screen devices.
Lessthanjakedude @ Mar 6th 2009 1:41PM
This is not multi touch at all. What he has done is positioned the buttons so that the average signal from two fingers intersects the line between each different combination of two buttons at a unique point. I though it looked suspect because if he had actually some how figured out a way to do actual multitouch he would have done a tech demo or something decent instead of some rubbish guitar hero game. I love it when I'm right.
u suck @ Apr 18th 2009 9:22PM
can some one tell me if this phone gets good reception on virgin mobile, the phone i have at the moment sucks with reception
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND TO ME