Multitouch coming to 'majority' of future Motorola devices, says CEO
By Ross Miller 
posted January 14th 2010 2:49AM
posted January 14th 2010 2:49AM
Native app multitouch, you say? It's a dream that most US Android users have failed to experience, but Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has let loose some promising words. In an interview with Laptop, he asserted that the company will be more proactive in getting the two-finger (or more) shuffle into its Google devices -- more specifically he said, "I think you will see us deliver multitouch in the majority of our devices going forward. There's a complex set of factors, not all of them technical." That last bit's pretty ominous, but nothing we haven't surmised before, and frankly, it all sounds a lot better than "we'll consider it." Also discussed in the interview is the inevitability of tablet experimentation, and the (un)likelihood of a Motoblur phone landing in Google's online store. "I think clearly the bias is towards Google Experience devices." Perhaps, but we'll be interested to see what HTC has to say about that.
catch on with the times, sanjay.. don't you know that no-one want's multitouch? ;)
@glenskey
Or flash or multi-tasking...
@spacecake
Sounds like a bag of hurt
@glenskey i refuse to believe that i was downranked for such a blatant act of sarcasm..
@glenskey
You've angered the android army.
but seriously tho, if your current android handset doesn't have the features you need/want out of the box, do what iphone users have been doing for a while now:
root your phone and install a custom ROM
or you can whine and bitch about everything being Apple's fault.
you don't see Pre or ZuneHD users complaining about pinch to zoom, do ya?
@logicbombde
despite the fact that your comment made very little sense, i think i understand your confusion
the line: "don't you know that no-one want's multitouch" is sarcasm on my behalf, or "witty language used to convey insult or scorn." I DO wan't my droid (and any other future motorola handset) to have native multitouch built-in, and it should be accessible without having to root the phone, which many consumers would have no idea about.
also, you asked if i see zune HD or pre customers complaining about pinch-to-zoom, the answer is.. i do not.
that was mockery by the way, folks.
The lack of pinch zoom on my Droid has been getting to me, maybe I just don't know how the heck to use my phone but I'm always clicking on links all over the place when I double tap or go for the zoom button right when it disappears.
@yulebellow
If you have problems, get the Dolphin browser. It has multi-touch and programmable gesture support.
@yulebellow
Forget Dolphin browser, check out xscope - faster and better pinch zoom action
@yulebellow There are two other options as the replies you have show. Just download another browser.
I think Motorola should just install another browser/keyboard/map app on the stock droid and ditch the google versions since clearly google has some ongoing issues with releasing "pinch to zoom" in the US.
I am however, completely fed up with Engadgets complete INABILITY to understand that the phone supports multitouch. Seriously. Engadget, STOP SPREADING FUD. Do you know how many people I've talked to that state that the Droid doesn't support multitouch? I have one right here, and the browser I have DOES support multitouch, and it was FREE without modifying the phone.
I appreciate that arstechnica was a LOT more honest about their reviews as they also included mention of the dolphin browser, AND they tested a SUITE of websites when it came to benchmarking the speed. Guess what? The iphone got DESTROYED by the nexus in web browsing speed. But if you read engadget, you'd think that the nexus takes approximately 6x longer to render a site than the iphone.
Seriously. Quit the crap engadget.
majority of phones except for those sold in the united states
mmmmmm, really??
flash on the iphone http://paulirish.com/work/gordon/demos/
@Sarcasme
Native flash support or GTFO!
Let's just start with the onscreen keyboard and go from there.
Apple lawsuit in 3.....2.....1....
@fighterfelix - oh please. Neither Palm nor HTC nor LG were sued by Apple, despite having multitouch-capable devices out on the market for the better part of a year now.
@fighterfelix You are absolutely right. Doubters and hatred of the iPhone, watch Steve Jobs introductory video of the iPhone from several years ago. It was the device of the decade which brought multi touch to the cell phone. It's perhaps the most distinctive aspect of the device, which is why you are not seein. It soon anywhere else, at least in a native out of the box way. Oh, I'm completing the comment from my 3GS Engadget App too. Btw, my Goigle apps all have pinch n zoom, tap n double tap. Initially, I was not in favor of "the walled garden", but once you get inside, it sure is nice. Droid heads, you can all have your BB tipoff scroll wheel! I'll stick with my bazillion app store, YouTube galore n iTunes media Mecca. Not to mention the intuitive easy to use interface.... Motorola? I thought they went BK like Levitz???
The thing is, Android has system-wide API support for multitouch since 2.0. Just because Google doesn't use it for its own apps (their browser, gmaps, etcs), doesn't mean that Android doesn't support multitouch. So Engadget, could you please stop spreading FUD all over the place.
I want my Moto. Hello Android. You should've gotten Google to multitouched us out. Oh, but nooooooo. We have to get Moto to do the real work that should've been done by Google.
Multi touch.... the most over rated thing to date...
and the world explodes!
I just installed the newest Sholes ROM a few days ago and now have multitouch in the native browser on my Droid (which was pulled from the Milestone). Since there was no mention of current Motorola devices getting multitouch, I guess it's up to us to find ways around it.
can moto bring multitouch to its google experience phones, e.g. droid, without google implementing it themselves? i guess the milestone proves that moto can. i hope it comes out soon! motorola is really stepping up their game lately..
"Native app multitouch, you say? It's a dream that most US Android users have failed to experience, "
They have failed to experience it only if they have chosen to do so by sticking with native Google Apps.
And it is also only a "dream" to those that have decided that everything must be a "me too" copy of the iPhone.
Newsflash: Some people don't buy an iPhone, not only because it is on at&t (though that is a good reason), but also because they don't like it!
@JayMonster Most people buy a phone n use the native apps. Let's face it, Google phones are for hackers. Btw, I haven't had any problems with ATT network... Unless you live in the boonies, then go Verizon. AT&T let's us have wifi, this is crucial to download apps n games n media from iTunes. Verizon's network is a prison. For example I use Skype on my iPhone all the time on my wifi at home or work.... Tmo is more open in this regard, but their network is spotty.
Bandwagon jumpers. A few year ago they were perfectly happy with the stylus and the resistive touch screens. Now they have seen the light and are desperately trying to compete. I wonder what the problem is?
@Unverified User You are dead on! The whole world has been blatantly copying Apple for the last 30 yrs. First MightySoft ... I mean no one can dent this. Now look at all the cell phone companies trying to play catch up with Apple! Go Cupertino! I mean can the average American even state the names of the CEOs of the other companies like Google, Motorola, LG, Nokia? They're all a bunch a wannabe's - no offense to Brin n Page. Steve Jobs is a National Treasure. I just hope he stays alive for a while.
I wonder if this will force Engadget to give a positive review to an android device... we shall see :-)
I've been enjoying multi-touch on my Droid plus some 2.1 goodies via www.sholes.info as well. They have excellent stable roms. You can select what you want and don't want. So it's not like a Cyanogen custom rom, it's more of a check here for multitouch browser, check here for 2.1 gallery to install, etc. It's great.
But the funny thing is, now I don't use multitouch as much because I got so used to double-tapping to zoom in on a particular area. It's still nice for forms though.
You just have to look at the Android Media Platform (AMP) roadmap from Motorola to know this was coming... note in my blog entry that this is a closed-source Motorola specific component:
http://zwadia.com/?p=118
Before adding multitouch, Motorola should really improve their extremely crappy interface.
Damn CLIQ refuses to answer calls, tons of bugs, and slow response.
Before buying motorola, please think about it twice... I regret getting Motorola... shouldve waited for the Nexus One...