multitouch

[radikal]

is it copyrighted? yes or no? thats what i wanna hear?

cause some say yes, some say technically yes, some say no, some say technically no... tell me, is it? and if so than can it come to droid in ways.

 

[Telexen]

There isn't any one single patent for multi-touch...as it would be overreaching...but Apple does hold several different patents relating to how they use multi-touch.

It's a crack in the patent system if you ask me, and they should definitely not be allowed to patent such things...it's not even Intellectual Property at this point. We need an FTC with a ballsack for consumers...kind of like the FCC is doing these days.

 

[radikal]

i see i see, thank you. so we could get it ONE DAY! maybe

 

[colnago]

Milestone has it...gonna be sold in Canada "and" the US soon. Droid has it, just not activated.

 

[ICANSEEYOU7687]

not exactly true....

it is working and activated, just nothing in the UI recognizes it.

there are a few apps on the market that give you multi touch in the apps, such as picsay.

multitouch is working fine on the droid.

 

[craighwk]

not exactly true....

it is working and activated, just nothing in the UI recognizes it.

there are a few apps on the market that give you multi touch in the apps, such as picsay.

multitouch is working fine on the droid.

Except the keyboard, browser, gallery, etc. Not working fine at all.

Yes, I know the Droid SUPPORTS it, the default apps just don't.

 

[Hegemony]

The implication that multitouch is patented is bunk. No one has ever seen any paperwork indicating Apple owns multitouch technology. Apple does not own multitouch and the idea that some secret patent exists out there is also bunk.

You might want to make the argument that HTC and other purveyors are too small for Apple to care about, but Google isn't. Well, I direct your attention to a wee software company from Redmond called Microsoft. Windows 7 has multitouch support, and no lawsuit from Apple.

Android 2.0 has multitouch API hooks, which is why apps like Dolphin Browser and PicSay can use it. As for why the stock apps don't take advantage of it, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they just didn't have time to implement it right. 2.0 does feel a bit rushed. They might have just not wanted to use multitouch in all those apps until they got it completely worked out.

 

[krichek]

The Pre has multitouch as does the European version of the Droid. So clearly it's not a patent issue in my opinion. I've seen one article where it was stated that Motorola says that it's carrier preference. I think it will come to the Droid either via an official update at some point in the future or as an unoffcial one once the Droid is rooted.

 

[Trel]

The Pre has multitouch as does the European version of the Droid. So clearly it's not a patent issue in my opinion. I've seen one article where it was stated that Motorola says that it's carrier preference. I think it will come to the Droid either via an official update at some point in the future or as an unoffcial one once the Droid is rooted.

Could it not also come out as a verbatim copy of the apps from the European version seeing as how it's open source?

 

[krichek]

Could it not also come out as a verbatim copy of the apps from the European version seeing as how it's open source?

I don't think you can copy or overwrite the pre-installed apps until the device has been rooted.

 

[Trel]

I don't think you can copy or overwrite the pre-installed apps until the device has been rooted.

I don't meant to overwrite, could the base app from the European one be just released as a normal app in the market? Similar to how K-9 Mail is based off the default mail app.

 

[kelchm]

I don't meant to overwrite, could the base app from the European one be just released as a normal app in the market? Similar to how K-9 Mail is based off the default mail app.

First, we don't have the source code the Milestone's browser.

Second, Motorola implement their own multi-touch library to enable multi-touch in the browser.

This throws a wrench into things... Yes we can install the browser from the milestone without rooting after going through the trouble of renaming the app... However, we also need the moto multi-touch library and it it is not possible to put it in the correct location without having root.

 

[Gunner]

The implication that multitouch is patented is bunk. No one has ever seen any paperwork indicating Apple owns multitouch technology. Apple does not own multitouch and the idea that some secret patent exists out there is also bunk.

I agree that trying to patent MT is ridiculous. However, it seems the only logical deduction for the Droid not getting MT out-of-the-box is a legal dept decision. Just doesn't make sense when the Euro Droid (Milestone) is getting full-on MT outta the box. Why there and not here unless there was some anticipated legal action (real or imaginary) about the Droid having MT on day 1. HTC apparently has no worries, however, they have coded MT into Android 1.6 on their own - it didn't come from Google - and that may be the difference.

 

[serwin]

you can't copyright something like "multitouch" you can only copyright the method of how the device uses it. Multitouch is just a variation of touch screen.

 

[krichek]

I agree that trying to patent MT is ridiculous. However, it seems the only logical deduction for the Droid not getting MT out-of-the-box is a legal dept decision. Just doesn't make sense when the Euro Droid (Milestone) is getting full-on MT outta the box. Why there and not here unless there was some anticipated legal action (real or imaginary) about the Droid having MT on day 1. HTC apparently has no worries, however, they have coded MT into Android 1.6 on their own - it didn't come from Google - and that may be the difference.

Like I said in a previous post, I'll try and find the actual article later tonight tho. Motorola has basically said multi-touch is a carrier option. That seems to imply that Verizon is the one that has some issue/reservation about it and not Motorola.

 

[Gunner]

That would make more sense as VZW is famous for gimping their phones, and would more likely make feature decisions based off of perceived legal pressure. I still think it goes back to some sort of legal dept + bean counter combo decision.

 

[wige]

I don't think the issue is copyright, it is a patent issue. Apple's patent does not cover all multi-touch. It only covers certain features - swipe scrolling, pinch to zoom in a web browser, and several others. From what I understand, these things are unlikely to interfere with the use of multi-touch on a desktop operating system.

However, another thing to bear in mind with patents is the idea of mutual patent destruction. Some companies have a sufficient patent arsenal that they can get away with some infringement because if they are sued they could sue the other company. I have heard rumors that this is the case with Palm's multi-touch - they simply have too many mobile device patents they could call in to be sued by Apple for infringement.

I hate Apple by the way. Death to the procedural patent!