Xperia X10 multitouch issue is hardware-related?

Sony Ericsson's flagship Android smartphone, the Xperia X10, has been plagued by laggy performance since we first laid eyes on it, but that won't always be the case; the company has confirmed repeatedly that upgrades (including a newer Android OS version) will come. However, it now seems that multitouch is not in the cards. "There's no multitouch in X10 – and I also can confirm that it's not only related to [software] but also to [hardware]," said product manager Rikard Skogberg at the official company blog. If true, that means the X10 won't get multitouch even when rooted, much less a Nexus One or Milestone-like level of native, official multitouch support. But remember, Sony Ericsson has fancy UI quirks of its own -- though you may never pinch-to-zoom on an X10, at least you can enjoy reticulating Splines.

[Thanks, Björn R.]

[Alexpeegs Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:03AM]

No clearpad 2000?

[Alexpeegs Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:04AM]

@Alexpeegs need to do some research...

[Alexpeegs Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:12AM]

@Alexpeegs I think it uses clearpad 1000 series that's teh problem

[dingus Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:19AM]

@Alexpeegs N1 manages pinch-to-zoom with the 1000. It's not good for much more than that though.

[New Reformation Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:25AM]

@dingus

I am interested in this. What are the capabilities of the HD2 multitouch digitizer?

[Alexpeegs Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:27AM]

@dingus The nexus one uses clearpad 2000

[jlarex Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:29AM]

@dingus

I believe the nexus on actually uses the clearpad 2000. The clearpad 3000 is the one that has the more advanced multitouch features, but I don't know what phone uses it, if any.

[N900androidOS Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:34AM]

@Alexpeegs
so wheres the $800 worth of hardware at on this phone?

[indeed Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:42AM]

way to screw up another phone, SE!

[DoctarPeppar Posted Mar 29th 2010 9:49AM]

@indeed
My thoughts exactly. I remember a few months ago when places just stopped selling the Satios because they were having so many problems. And the most hilarious thing was that they claimed Google asked them to make the Nexus one and they turned it down...HA! Imagine how the N1 would have turned out if SE made it instead of HTC -- it would be a complete disaster. SE needs to throw in the towell, i'm sorry but they haven't had a decent phone in years.

[pika2000 Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:05AM]

I don't think by this time many people in the US would care about this phone anymore, especially with the Nexus One being available on every network, and Goggle is shipping the GSM version unlocked.

And to think I was so excited about the X10 last year. *sigh.

[HansImGlueck Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:21AM]

@pika2000 To think of all the things I've ever been excited about!

[Zeak Posted Mar 29th 2010 5:03AM]

@pika2000 Having no multitouch is an epic fail. IMHO SE won't catch-up with the rest since neither Xperia nor Aino\Satio have anything to show..A pity though.

[cocopuffs Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:05AM]

That sucks......

[Edobe Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:07AM]

software keyboard - multitouch = unuseable

[Student Driver Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:29AM]

@Edobe

Edobe + comment on something he knows nothing about = fail

The stock Android keyboard has been fine while not MT aware, but you could also use Swype and be done with it.

[thefox844 Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:09AM]

When is the Droid 2 coming out?

[einhanderkiller Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:18AM]

I will guess Fall 2010.

[kevin52094 Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:21AM]

Well this is unfortunate (not that I would be buying this anyway)

I don't really use pinch-to-zoom very much on my Droid Eris, but the other uses of multitouch (for the keyboard etc.) are quite needed. Having used a phone without it, I can tell you it is maddening.

[zbot Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:21AM]

hilarious how bad sony ericsson FAILS with every top device launch. stick a fork in them. the x10 sucks, and i say that after having used it a good deal.

[JW Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:40AM]

@zbot
They really need to stick to feature phones. The Walkman series, Green heart, and Cyber-shots are good, but the Xperias and Satio just aren't measuring up.

[kevin52094 Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:22AM]

Not that I would be buying this anyway, but I pretty much consider multitouch vital.

Pinch to Zoom isn't really all that, but using a keyboard without multitouch can be maddening.

[dvice19 Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:27AM]

multitouch or no multitouch, nobody cares about this phone anymore anyway... that ui never did look good anyway...

[Modern Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:30AM]

I wanted the x10 last year. I'm kinda glad it kept getting delayed because I'm getting the EVO 4g on Sprint.

[edub Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:30AM]

so glad I got a nexus one. the screen isn't perfect (according to those videos) but I don't get problems out of mine. here's to hoping Sony Ericsson gets their shit sorted...

[domyoji Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:30AM]

Strange, I played with one in the DoCoMo store the other day and it seemed to have no lag or typing problems like they were talking about on here. Also Pinch to Zoom was working just fine.

[Mentat Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:08AM]

@domyoji

Should I believe the manufacturer or the unnamed deuche bag that "used" one in a store...

[domyoji Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:11AM]

@Mentat
So I am a douche for playing around with the phone? And since when did I refute the manufacturer you ass? I was saying I did not experience any lag problems that Engadget did in their review.

[Goc Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:02AM]

@domyoji
But you also mentioned that you used pinch to zoom which is multitouch and the manufacturer is saying that it isn't supported by neither its software or its hardware, so you're basically lying.
As for it being laggy I can't say it felt that way when I used it.

[domyoji Posted Mar 29th 2010 8:09AM]

@Goc
Nope, I used pinch to zoom on google maps, that is unless its just recognized one finger gestures. I pinched in on the screen and it zoomed in. I used the phone at the Docomo store outside Musashi Kosugi between the Beckers burger and Excelsior Cafe. It was released here just a few days ago. I am not totally sure its for sale as the website said it wouldnt be till april, but they had sales tags up.

[Scrtcwlvl Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:32AM]

How about NURBS?

[Student Driver Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:33AM]

I'm a huge Android fan, but crap like this is getting annoying. It would be NICE to have minimum standards set forth on hardware that's used. If the display TRULY doesn't handle multitouch at all (and not just some "vital" gestures, such as the fabled pinch-zoom that so many rave about) then there's little point in shipping the damn thing. And considering the price point it's likely going out at, I can't understand a digitizer panel being even worse than the N1 (2 points, and gestures that can't exceed 90* rotation) would have been used. Whatever.

[Mentat Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:05AM]

@Student Driver

Lol, the reason people love android is BECAUSE it has no "forced" hardware specs to deal with- there was a whole article here on Engadet about all the different devices carrying Android and that will lead to it's demise. Everyone commented how stupid the opInion was...

[Windows 7 Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:14AM]

@Student Driver I like Android too, and am also looking forward to windows 7. I dont like apples tight grip, and wouldnt buy an apple product, but I am starting to understand them being so protective of their o.s.. I wish google would be more protective too. im real worried about the fragmentation that has allready started. I would be ok with apps only from the store. but seeing yahoo search and carrier bloatware really bugs me. If apple can keep at&t from touching their o.s. why cant google make them and others. I know its open source, but too open could ruin a great o.s.

[junktrunk Posted Mar 29th 2010 9:21AM]

@Windows 7
You're missing the reason why AT&T is able to insist on including yahoo search and other nonsense on their Android phones - iPhone is insanely popular, and the Android phones so far great but not that huge a draw that a manufacturer can just say no to AT&T (or any carrier). With Google Experience phones (Droid, Nexus One) the manufacturer can say no to significant changes (e.g. yahoo search) because the license with Google prohibits such changes (i.e. it's not up to the manufacturer, and therefore, no amount of carrier pressure can make a difference). But for phones using Sense UI, BLUR, and whatever add-ons X1 is using , you better believe those will be like this for a while, until one is going to be such a big seller than it gives the power back to the manufacturer.

Anyway, I'm not sure what your concern is. Google Experience phones for the most part will be fairly consistent in terms of capabilities, but it's up to you to read about the individual device's crazy awesome features or limitations. It's exactly the same as the Mac vs PC battle (with of course iPhone subbing for Mac, all the Android phones subbing for PCs) - there's a lot of power in flexibility, and a bit of research required if you're fussy.

[huh Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:36AM]

The promise of the SE X10 includes a better camera.. if they failed multitouch, the battery life is not amazing, and the camera is not that much better (eg low light without flash) it's an utter failure.

[Luxury Guy Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:35AM]

@huh The camera is leagues ahead of the Nexus 1s or the majority of other phones for that matter. I'm not just talking megapixels here, I talking leagues ahead in terms of color rerproduction and image quality. See for the comparison for yourself near the bottom of the page:
http://translate.google.se/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http://www.swedroid.se/test-av-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10&sl=sv&tl=en

[huh Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:43AM]

@Luxury Guy thanks. iPhone 3GS has a pretty good cam, it is a checklist item for many Android phones including N1 which does not have a great way to remember or process images, I see much better image quality from X10 but it's still not clear if it's worth the trade off in OS upgrade and lack of multitouch feature, or people should just wait. Wish SE could have come out with a real breakthrough product.

[jlarex Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:39AM]

I bet Sony Ericsson assumed Google would never enable native pinch-to-zoom, so they thought they could get away with a cheaper touchscreen.

[njsrikar Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:47AM]

I pity they guys who are waiting for this phone....will it ever be launched ???

[rockyk86 Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:24AM]

It has already been launched

[JeremyBenthem Posted Mar 29th 2010 12:50AM]

@pachi72
I thought engadget did a review on one of these, weren't they aware that the screen was resistive?

[Aaron MartinColby Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:00AM]

Sim City 2k FTW.

[DBG Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:12AM]

+1 for The Sims reference. Also very disappointed in Sorny =/.

[pika2000 Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:08AM]

@DBG +1 for Ebichu.

[thanhpluv Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:19AM]

Failed

[Luxury Guy Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:21AM]

@JeremyBenthem Its not resistive... It is a capacitive screen, that much everyone knows.

[Luxury Guy Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:25AM]

@pachi72 Definitely agreed, I never found the Nexus One attractive. For some reason it reminds me of a dull 90s PC.

[Wesscoast Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:30AM]

Wait, you mean this thing actually exists?

Hm.

[iknowaeiou Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:32AM]

How ironic - being in the U.S., I'm not sure I was ever going to get a chance to be disappointed by this phone anyway.