The
GSM flavor of Motorola's DROID, or
Milestone as it will be known in Europe, has multitouch built-in to the UI. For reasons we can only assume have something to do with an unspoken intellectual property agreement between Google and Apple, the US version of the user interface
lacks multi-touch features like pinch-to-zoom even though the underlying 2.0 OS supports multitouch events. However, the video of a GSM DROID headed to Europe clearly shows this feature at the 3 minute mark. No really, see for yourselves after the break.
[Via
SlashGear]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ranjit @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:09AM
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! my next phone shall be which ever droid/milestone or SE x3/x10 (whatever it is) come to the uk :)
Swede @ Nov 2nd 2009 7:18AM
Multitouch is the most overrated and useless function ever in a handheld device. It is virtually impossible to use one handed and pretty much the only application it is used for today is zooming in and out. A double-tap is way more intuitive IMHO. I can see value when it comes to typing fast on a software keyboard but for zooming it is a waste. So you are not missing much in the US in other words.
ale @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:49PM
There is a lot of flashiness involved. I mean it's clearly not the MOST useful. However, there have been times on my friend's iPhone browser that it really came in handy or for zooming into pictures. But it's important to remember that it IS useless during calling/texting/emailing which is probably the majority of smartphone tasks.
unless your eyes are so bad that you need to pinch zoom the dialer. But in that case, you have much larger problems
bernardino @ Nov 2nd 2009 6:27PM
Double tapping is much more hit or miss because, with any website fullscreen, a user's finger is so big that homing in on very small links becomes difficult without zooming. If the link is all by itself in a decently large enough table cell, 80% of the time I can hit the link without zooming, 90% of the time I can double tap to zoom and then click the link, but there's still that 10% of the time where no matter how precise I try to tap I'm sent to the wrong area of the page or just can't hit the link. I could double tap elsewhere and drag over to the location I need, but that doesn't always help because I still do not have precise control over the zoom level and there have been times when I've need to be insanely close to a link to click it.
Multi-touch gives the most precise control over zoom I've experienced over all of the phones I've tried. For me, that is the most intuitive way to navigate a webpage. It's like holding the page physically in my hand and performing some movement in concert to get a better view, such as bring the page closer or further to my face while moving it left, right, up or down at the same time.
I'm willing to agree that multi-touch is useless when it comes to one handed use. I have been able to do one-handed multi-touch gestures before, but it's tricky enough that I wouldn't call it practical. I'm willing to agree that for a majority of tasks, multi-touch is unnecessary because of features like tap-to-zoom. But, there are a few times where multi-touch has been a more intuitive way to navigate applications, that without it I would feel that the UI was a bit clunky, and with it I feel like the interface is much closer to 100% intuitive usability.
For casual use, I don't usually make much use of multi-touch, but when I'm in a heated web-surfing session on my phone, I make abundant use of multi-touch for one of the smoothest and most intuitive web browsing experiences I've experienced on any phone.
Now if only Apple would stop requiring me to jailbreak to get features like background apps, I would probably continue to be an iPhone consumer. Lacking that, I may just make the hop over to a phone like Droid, as long as it has an UI experience on par with the iPhone, and that includes multi-touch.
blake @ Nov 2nd 2009 10:37AM
much overrated, agreed. but just give it some time... there will probably be pinch to zoom on the US droid at some point, officially, or unofficially.
thefencechild @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:59AM
i agree with the above comments. double tapping is just as easy and you can do it with just the handing holding the phone. unfortunately in america its all about flash and how cool it all looks.
Who? @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:11PM
So much for "open development"
Po Panda @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:01PM
Amen to that brutha!
iCandy @ Nov 2nd 2009 2:27PM
I'm at a loss here, why would the device have multitouch in its European incarnation but not its North America counterpart? Could there truly be some negotiation / collusion between Google/Apple, a decision by Motorola, something added by the European carriers or removed by Verizon? Any guesses?
Tristan @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:25PM
definitely an overated feature...granted I do use it on my G1s Hero rom, but its nothing spectacular...I also find the double tap feature of Stock 2.0 to be VERY intuitive...especially compared to the double tap in a Hero ROM (never actually played with the actual Hero)
Waine1906 @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:05PM
Why couldn't T-Mobile USA get this instead of the Cliq?? Figures... Thanx again T-Mo for managing to disappoint your customers.
cpiasminc @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:09PM
I think it has a lot more to do with the horribly messed up implementations in the US with regards to software patents. Basically, it allows companies like Apple to effectively patent linear algebra. No, I'm not kidding. You can literally patent multiplication by two in a highly specific context with US Software Patents.
What I think is the case is that there are a number of ways to implement pinch-to-zoom in terms of the relationship between two touchpoints, and Apple has one of them. It's quite possible that the implementation that Android uses may well be identical (at least in part) in terms of the math. And if you do that, apparently, you run into hassles with regards to patent infringement. As messed up as the Euro patent system is, it isn't as messed up as the US when it comes to software, so it's possible that Apple can't pull the same crap over there.
DNL @ Nov 2nd 2009 9:14PM
Multitouch is not only useful for zooming.
When using a virtual keyboard (especially) in landscape format, you can tap out letters quickly and the phone will recognize a letter tapped while your finger is still on the first letter. Ie when typing DROID, you might type DR with one hand and OI with another. Without multitouch, you have to slow down your typing to make sure you're only hitting one letter at a time. You also don't get a modifier key (Shift) which you can use quickly, instead of toggling.
VV @ Nov 2nd 2009 10:19PM
Droid has multi-touch enabled, just not for pinch-zooming, so this fast typing should work in either case.
r4 revolution for ds @ Nov 5th 2009 4:20AM
Thanx for the valuable information. t is virtually impossible to use one handed and pretty much the only application it is used for today is zooming in and out. Please provide information over it. Provide links to related topics if possible.
(http://www.r4-ds-card.co.nz/)
r4 @ Nov 5th 2009 6:17AM
Thanx for the valuable information. when I'm in a heated web-surfing session on my phone, I make abundant use of multi-touch for one of the smoothest and most intuitive web browsing experiences I've experienced on any phone. keep posting. Will be visiting back soon.