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According to an unnamed Android team member, Google actively pulled multitouch support from the Android platform after Apple requested its removal. The decision, which the source claims was done to avoid souring Google’s ongoing relationship with Apple, left the T-Mobile G1 with hardware that would support multitouch but a platform that restricts input to just a single finger.
Various hacks have surfaced recently, demonstrating how to adapt the Android platform to enable multitouch, including suggestions that Google themselves commented-out relevant code that had been active in pre-production builds. The source claimed that Google’s key priority was avoiding a legal contest over IP, such as seems to be brewing between Apple and Palm with regards the multitouch and gesture implementation in the iPhone and the Pre.
The Android source also suggested that Intel are currently investing heavily in supporting Android based netbooks. While there’s still no word on how exactly Intel sees its role as panning out with the open-source OS, there are apparently “many different” netbooks running Android, together with “other Android projects” not related to netbooks or smartphones, currently rushing through development.
[via Android Community]
One Response to “Apple requested Android multitouch support be cut?”
logoutreally February 10, 2009
Check the source post again for comments by some Luke.. same guy who ported the stuff? May be. Seemingly using the touch on HTC isn’t an issue after all.
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HTC Dream doesn’t have what iPhone has.
Synaptics driver provides what is available even in a macbook.
Two finger click & scroll etc are used in macbook’s touch pad.
This part of the internal code alone was commented out.
This is not protected by any patent.
Synaptics provides it and has to deal with it for itself.
Patented gestures are short-lived and can be easily countered
by a slight change.
That is very different from multi-touch used and patented in iPhone.
It has a matrix of touch sensors, one for almost every pixel manufactured by a German co. ‘Balda’.
With HTC Dream, it would be impossible to detect jerky rotations, quick spin-unspins etc.
Android is not HTC Dream / G1 / ADP1 / …
Even if it were, Apple’s patent doesn’t hold much against supporting this hardware.
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From http://venturebeat.com/2009/02.....-complied/
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