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.]

[Johnny Rockets Posted Mar 29th 2010 1:39AM]

LOL @ Sony.

That's what you get for making people wait through 9018380291 delays. Now you release a crap phone the day after the Evo is announced, with a ridiculously old OS version and now as we find out, crappy hardware too. Obsolete right out of the gate.

Imagine if this came out 12 months ago, with stock Android. THEN it would have sold like mad, and maybe even out-sold the Droid.

Maybe you should have rethought that idiotic skin that caused an extra 18 months of development, eh Sony?

[Plazmic Flame Posted Mar 29th 2010 10:14AM]

@Johnny Rockets

+Reps....so so true....

[MrMusic Posted Mar 30th 2010 4:10AM]

@Johnny Rockets
+1

I agree to the highest possible degree. I was crazy about this phones hardware one year ago. Today it's still ok hardware, except for no multitouch, but the 1.6 craptacular botchup of the OLD android OS is maybe the dumbest thing SE decided to do.

[JeremyBenthem Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:14AM]

@Luxury Guy
then how is the hardware limited against multi-touch?

[MarkAnderson Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:18AM]

It's a Sony. What did you expect?

[Biggs Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:37AM]

Does the Nexus One & Droid/Milestone have multitouch on the keyboard?

[liquidmonkey Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:54AM]

great device SE, if u released it in 2009 :(

i hope you guys learn and release your next AWESOME device 2 months after you announce it, NOT 1 year.

[liquidmonkey Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:13AM]

and one more thing...
is mulTITouch (tee hee hee) really that BIG OF A DEAL???
whats wrong with double tap? or a zoom key / button???

just seems like people are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

[arjaan Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:51AM]

@liquidmonkey Multitouch enables you to type faster. The screen can record the multiple presses. Also gaming takes advantage of MT, for example for moving around, shifting gear, selecting weapons etc, all at the same time...

[liquidmonkey Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:56AM]

@arjaan
got it, thanks!
i thought it was just a zooming in on a map or picture issue.
but how can you type faster? surely you can only type one key at a time or does there have be a little lag between key presses in order for it to register?

[edude05 Posted Mar 29th 2010 7:13AM]

@liquidmonkey
Have you ever typed on a blackberry storm 1? If not, since the screen clicks in, you can't hit your next key until it comes back up. A small lag but very noticeable when you type fast.

Same idea with not having multitouch, it can't detect your second finger until your first one is off the screen, and if you type too fast, it detects the middle point between your two fingers and you get a different letter.

[teesquared Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:23AM]

Awwww poor Sony....seems like they can't get their shit together. I really wanted this phone. Too bad they waited so long to release it. Ah well I've moved on.......


posted from my Nexus One

[Goc Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:57AM]

@JeremyBenthem
You don't seem to know anything about this, multitouch isn't related to the screen being capacitive or resistive it's related to the ability of the digitizer to detect more than 1 input on the screen at the same time.

[FC1032 Posted Mar 29th 2010 3:57AM]

This is so disappointing. I was waiting for this to get the update and hope it would have better multi-touch than the Nexus one. Why do ALL Android phones seem to have at least one weakness??

Does anyone know of any Android phones that can register more than 2 fingers?

[BigJayDogg3 Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:16PM]

@FC1032

Because there will never be a perfect phone.

And many of the new midrange phones and most of the high end sets (droid, N1, etc) have multitouch.

[Goc Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:07AM]

I certainly loved its UI when I used it, I didn't feel multitouch was necessary at all, of course I am used to working on Maemo and Symbian which have functional interfaces instead of useless gimmicks.
And while I liked it, the white one looked really ugly.

[Kohai Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:39AM]

What I really think is a pity is that a phone with a 4'' screen from SONY Ericsson doesn´t play dix movies (natively), has (by now) 65k on screen and poor audio quality.....

If I am to buy a $800 phone (the MOST expensive of the non luxury segment) at least I want it to do what it´s direct competitors do...but it´s not the case, even it isn´t made up from quality materials (from gsmarena review).

[arjaan Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:56AM]

It is still a nice phone, but not a top competer. If you're into social networking, media and taking photo's this still could be a good choice. But if SE wanted to create a top phone they have to be at least on the same level as the benchmark, that i-thing...

[Zeak Posted Mar 29th 2010 5:05AM]

@pachi72
well..It needs a way more RAM to get rid of those lags..

[iknowaeiou Posted Mar 29th 2010 6:17AM]

Being platform agnostic, I don't often make comparisons, but I will say this -

Sony and other companies could learn something from Apple:

Don't announce it till it's basically ready, stupid.

Thank you for your time.

[edude05 Posted Mar 29th 2010 7:07AM]

I hope this isn't true. I am seriously planning on getting this launch day. However no multitouch support at all might be a deal breaker especially on android. No multitouch further fragments an already broken android ecosystem.

[chabba Posted Mar 29th 2010 7:42AM]

SE is just a big, constant, broken promise.

[b0rndead Posted Mar 29th 2010 8:10AM]

I was disappointed about the x10 at the cebit when the desire was just like 3 meters away ...

[Cingulair Posted Mar 29th 2010 9:34AM]

The failure for Android, it is the OS that was earlier spoken of. The OS that could be used by all manufacturers and carriers that is fully customizable. So for those of you looking for future upgrades and powerhouse features, stay away from any non-Google build handsets. Motorola is the closest you'll get because they want the Google Phone contract. Otherwise, be ware. Otherwise, you'll end up with a manufacturer/carrier agreed upon device. They won't see many upgrades because they are trying to sell phones and contracts. Whereas Google is trying to sell their OS.

[DoctarPeppar Posted Mar 29th 2010 9:51AM]

@Cingulair
Yup -- exactly. If you're looking for the best support and upgrades make SURE you get a "Google" branded phone. Android phones from companies like SE, Acer, Samsung, etc. will probably be riddled with issues (both software and hardware) and won't have any updates or decent support, both from the companies and the community.

[MAS Posted Mar 29th 2010 10:56AM]

So, is Sony Ericsson sorry that they didn't pick HTC for this one?

I am sure X10 owners are!

[BigJayDogg3 Posted Mar 29th 2010 2:04PM]

@JeremyBenthem

Furthermore, resistive screens can have multitouch.