Photo: HTC

The Nexus One, Google’s flagship HTC-manufactured Android phone, was launched with great fanfare but lacked what many consider a key Smartphone feature, multi-touch functionality. A soon-to-be-issued software update that fixes 3G connectivity issues also comes with limited multi-touch functionality for a handful of applications: Google Maps, the browser and gallery applications will now feature pinch-to-zoom functionality.

Patent Infringement Fears Dissipate

Photo: Apple

This feature has been omitted in this Android Smartphone up until now because it is believed that Apple holds the patent to it. Whether this is true, or whether it is in Apple’s interest to take legal action, is not known with certainty, so Google has gone ahead and added it to their Nexus One feature set.

Why Is This Important?

Present day multi-touch implementation is limited, but given this Apple patent, a multi-touch language capable of replacing all keyboard and mouse functions is not outside of the realm of possibility. Google, RIM and other competitors and innovators in the field are not ignorant of this possibility, hence the incredible R&D resources being developed for this surface-based technology. Taking a look at Portuguese company Displax’s technology should give an indication of where this technology is taking us.

The Nexus

Photo: Google

Google speaks of the Nexus as being the junction where great hardware meets great software and the omission of multi-touch, even in its current limited use, was widely regarded as a negative against the Nexus One, to the extent that the Android development team is aware of this and has reacted to it. This gives great credit to Google’s flexibility and willingness to adapt as they go along. The Smartphone Wars have only really just begun.