Even though the focus of this blog at this point is mostly on the Android 2.1 update of the X10 family I have something else I would like to share with you.
There has also been lots of rumors around this and I just want to clarify what we’re working on and what to expect.
(I will continue posting information on the current SW-update roll-out after this!)
As many of you know, just before the release of the Xperia X10 we saw lots of discussions around any potential support for multi touch.
Myself and Sumit were then very clear on the fact that there were no plans of having X10 supporting multi touch and said so here on this blog mainly to not have you guys hoping for things that just wasn’t planned.
Since then, because of the huge reaction to this and the real desire for multi touch expressed by you the users, there has been lots of investigations going on and I now have some good news to disclose. We aim to enable multi touch (pinch zoom) in an over-the-air update for the X10. The timing for this update is still a bit work in progress but it will for most markets be during Q1 next year.
What has happened is that some brilliant engineers actually was able to change the driver and firmware for the touch digitizer to make some multi touch gestures work. We are still working on perfecting the user experience and I will keep you updated as work progresses.
I also want to be clear on what to expect from this feature. The digitizer in the X10 is not perfect when it comes to multi touch, there will as an example be situations like when the movement of the two fingers cross each other on the X- or Y-axis that could cause strange behavior. (There has been much online debating around what is “good” and “bad” Multi Touch in competitor phones and this is following the same lines.)
Therefore we also will not enable it everywhere but the current plan is to enable it for the following use-cases:
- Pinch/Zoom in the web browser.
- Pinch/Zoom in Google Maps.
Besides that there is also support in third party applications but because of the limitations on e.g. crossing axis there might be situations where it behaves strangely while it will work just fine for most use-cases.
The support is basically for gestures like pinch/zoom so don’t expect e.g. multi touch gaming with buttons pressed simultaneously on different parts of the screen to work.
Let me know if you have specific multi touch enabled apps you want me to test!
Below is a video where I show some of the use-cases and what to expect on a prototype SW in my X10.
By Márcio
17th November 2010.
14:14
Really great! Thanks for this great news!
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Will this kind of MT support games like Zenonia or emulators like SNesoid, with “on-screen gamepad-like” controls?
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Both have free versions on Market, if you want to test them!
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Again, thanks for this big news!
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By Phil
17th November 2010.
14:15
Thanks SE. Good to know you are listening (even if it is a little late!). Any news on 2.2/2.3?
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By Kurt
17th November 2010.
14:15
Applause – excellent job, looks very promising!
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The obvious question – not that I am missing it, tough: Is there room for two fingers on the mini and the mini pro?
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By Alastair
17th November 2010.
14:19
Great news Rikard, finally SE is starting to reward our faith!
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Now we just need 2.2 and everyone will be really happy 
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Keep up the good work!
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By kyle
17th November 2010.
14:21
thanks SE 
now i won’t have to buy a competitor just for the multitouch. All i have to do now is upgrade to 2.1… SI 1236-2477 for Philippines hasn’t come out yet.. 
(
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By Márcio
17th November 2010.
14:25
So, no support for “gamepad-like” buttons on-screen?
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Well, still better than no MT at all.
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By Chris
17th November 2010.
14:31
Great news! I look forward to use it on my X10
Are there any news regarding Android 2.2?
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By Hott Dogg
17th November 2010.
14:32
Check if multitouch works in Angry Birds and Opera Mobile, please
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By Compex
17th November 2010.
14:36
Yes SE!! Yes!! Good job! I have always believed in multitouch on x10 !! TY!!
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By Brian
17th November 2010.
14:36
Nice work didn’t expect this anymore. One question about the auto brightnes function in 2.1? Is it comming back or not because i really liked it?!!! Kind regards and keep up the good work Rikard;-)
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By Hott Dogg
17th November 2010.
14:41
Oh, sorry. I didn’t watch video before asking
@Brian, autobightness works. Only checkbox gone
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By Hott Dogg
17th November 2010.
14:43
By the way, Nexus One has absolutely the same issue with crossing axys
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By PV
17th November 2010.
14:43
Its great to hear that SE is planning on making this available for the X10, this indicates that is does listen to it’s users.
I would like to have checked wheather the zoom function will work in Angry Birds, this is a real pain in the ass right now.
Thanks again Rikard!
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By Mr.Harry Topper
17th November 2010.
14:44
Hey Buddy.
Thanks for listening to your customer base, it’s nice when large companies care and listen to what the end user wants, and delivers.
Since this proves the x10 has MT abilities in some form, could you please make the drivers available for this to the XDA devs so we can have a custom ROM before Christmas with MT. Thanks.s
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By hibiskus
17th November 2010.
14:44
Good news, allthough on 1.6 we allready had pinch to zoom option on Google maps(allthough you couldnt zoom out) .
@Rikard Skogberg
Excellent quality of the video, concerning it was made by X10. What tripod do you use?
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By LDVC
17th November 2010.
14:45
Wow Rikard, you are such a lucky man! receiving all these SE updates and innovations way before we do.
Great to see you guys continuing to work on improving the X10. I’m still very satified with my X10.
On pinch-to-zoom: you do not mention Mediascape, does this mean mediascape won’t be able to zoom into pictures with pinch to zoom? And ofcourse: Google maps! Can we get google maps from the market once we have pinch-to-zoom.
Thanks for the great news. The SE developers are doing some good work recently!
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By Dash
17th November 2010.
14:45
Fantastic! It’s good to see that Sony Ericsson can still cater to their consumers’ needs, even if there is a blatant bias. Satio owners are still left with expensive paperweights, while Xperia X10 owners are getting the latest and greatest in firmware and hardware exploitation. I guess it’s a good thing I’m a member of both groups, though I do wish admission wasn’t so expensive and fruitless.
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By mezo9090
17th November 2010.
14:46
Great job, but lets see….
Can you test it on angry birds ??? zooming out in the stage map for full view ?
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By PV
17th November 2010.
14:47
Oh I see it has already been tested (stupid me)
Sorry for that!
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By lghost
17th November 2010.
14:49
I KNEW there is no HARDWARE ISSUE!!!!!Muahahah!
Great news for today, hope SE guys learn from the past FASTER~
Next thing we expect~Android 2.2!
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