Nexus One OTA Update Brings Multi-Touch
A lot of folks went and grabbed the update online and installed manually. I am a patient boy. I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait. And when something does happen, I turn on my camera. So here’s a video of me hitting a button, waiting a long time, and then testing pinch-to-zoom in the stock browser, gallery, and in Google Maps version 3.4. I threw in a little music so the wait wouldn’t be too boring. The update brings a few other changes, like seeing Google Goggles in your All Apps Menu, Goggle night vision features, and favorite places from your desktop use of Maps in the app:
Sorry fellas. I've posted before on TmoNews. I'm a former (note: former) iPhone user. I currently use the Nexus One with an AT&T SIM. EDGE on my Nexus One is faster than the 3G was on my iPhone (no, I'm not kidding). In fact, I also used the Fuze/Touch Pro, and the 3G was faster on that than the iPhone. I am not here, however, to talk about the iPhone, insomuch as the purpose of this post is to bring forth the following question:Is multi-touch really that big of a deal?I understand the novelty of multi-touch (the novelty being its most popular use, the pinch-to-zoom gesture), and can somewhat understand the potential practical applications of multi-touch (e.g., typing). We're using cell phones people; not computer keyboards. Are any of us expecting computer-like experiences on a 3.7 inch screen? For most of the ways in which multi-touch is utilized on cell phones, I have to say that the experience is extremely pedestrian; lackluster at best. If you are a power-user (and I'm not assuming everyone is), there is nothing worse than having to use two hands to operate a cell phone. Why would I use two hands when one will suffice?I can also understand that the utilization of multi-touch technology on a cell phone became mainstream with the iPhone in 2007. It also appears that every touchscreen cell phone produced since wants to or attempts to recreate the user experience of the iPhone without actually call their phones iPhones. I got the Nexus One simply because it wasn't an iPhone, but an improvement of the display/touchscreen-oriented experience. Unlike the iPhone, however, the Nexus One actually has a host of buttons (albeit soft buttons, but nonetheless, they are still buttons) that greatly improve the function and utility of a display/touchscreen-oriented cell phone (i.e., multitasking anybody?). When my Nexus One arrived January 6th, I was happy to have what I perceived to be a superior phone, but was also glad to see that it wasn't trying to be an iPhone. I certainly was not missing multi-touch. In fact, I discovered pinch-to-zoom by accident, not knowing that it was an actual feature. Well, it never grew on me. While it is a novelty and apparently something every iPhone user likes to show off via their photo gallery, it's just not as efficient as a simple double-tap.I have the update, and unlike Mr. Walton, I didn't wait for the OTA update, but instead downloaded it and installed from my SD card. I did so not because of multi-touch, but because of the nighttime mode in Google Maps. I still double-tap in the browser, gallery, and Maps. My browsing habits haven't changed. I think if a lot of people removed the Apple hype/novelty aspect of multi-touch (and more specifically, the pinch-to-zoom gesture), they will realize that the hype doesn't have all that much of a foundation. Beside, I live in Los Angeles. Enough people talk/text/do makeup whilst driving. I don't think we need pinch-to-zoom drivers either.
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