By Europe’s Milestone has had multitouch from the beginning, but now a hack brings multitouch web browsing to the Motorola Droid here in the States.
In order to obtain multitouch on your Droid simply follow these five steps over at AllDroid. You will need to root your phone first so this is not for beginners. Anyone tried this one out yet? Let us know how it works for you.
Multitouch capabilities in the web browser, include pinch to zoom gestures like the iPhone right on your Droid web browser.
[Via Gizmodo]
works fine. all though i am not sure what all the fuss is about.
Doesn’t seem a hell of a lot better then Dolphin’s. Although it’s a shame it’s full of ads just as the multitouch became good on it.
@James
You should look into getting AdFree :)
Skip rooting your phone an switch to Dolphin Browser. This gives you multitouch browsing without the potential bricking of your droid.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-mgeek-android-dolphinbrowser-browser-xwCt.aspx
Good god, what’s the point? You can’t figure out anything better to do with your second hand, so you want to use that one with your phone, too? Does this make you look cool? Help you quit smoking? What?
Or are you just trying to fit in with iphone users?
xScope is another alternative. The pinch zoom is a little smoother than Dolphin and it has a one-hand pin zoom which is hard to xplain but extremely useful.
um no r.e. it just makes it easier to view the web. Is it a problem to make things easier?
I wish xScope could get a little more love. It’s not quite 100% fully-featured yet, but the dev has been updating weekly to get it there.
It is fast, attractive, clean, and has a beautiful pinch zoom.
I have this installed on my Droid. Works very well my only complaint is that text input is very slow on physical and virtual keyboards while in the browser
As a former iPhone 3GS user pinch to zoom is probably the feature I miss most. Don’t get me wrong I do love the Droid.
You can also check out my more detailed (albeit, much longer) step-by-step (includes process for rooting) right here in the Android Forums http://bit.ly/7FxAma
@ r.e.
BEST COMMENT EVER! I totally agree and have thought that for ages. Just being able to use your thumb to zoom is a ton easier than grabbing the phone with your other hand and pinching away at the screen.
I’d be more interested in getting pinch zoom for Maps.
I think multi-touch should just be there and be usable…and for those who don’t care for it they can have the one touch feature. Can’t we have both and use which we prefer? I thought that was what Android was about anyway, choice and customization.
r.e.: Dude – relax. Different people prefer different ways of navigating. Some love hardware kbds, some hate them. Some use a mouse all the time, others love kbd shortcuts. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe. Personally, I like the smooth operation of pinch and zoom – it’s quicker for me, I can zoom right to the size I want without clicking over and over again. Plus, it’s a more precise way of zooming.
If you prefer the buttons, great. Why insult those of us who don’t, though?
And Toots – best comment ever? Really? Personally, I like the fact that most people around here keep a fairly positive attitude.
@r.e.
just because people want pinch zoom doesnt mean they want to “fit in with iphone users” pinch zoom is a much more convenient way to zoom..stop trying to jump on the bandwagon with this whole iphone hating thing. Different people have different preferences so get over it
…I see this is a “different strokes for different folks” topic.
I’ll just say that it looks promising towards an official update and leave it at that.
I would agree that pinch zoom is a much more convenient method than the double tap which usually zooms too much or too little.
Pinch-and-zoom crowd:
I don’t hate the iphone. I own an ipod touch, and it’s useful for a number of things. Pinch-and-zoom, however, isn’t one of them. I constantly have to contort my hand and risk dropping the device, just so i can zoom out or in using only one hand. Some applications can perform one specific action through double-tap, but this is nonstandard and inflexible. I’ve even brought my nose into the equation when hand contortion just wasn’t working out. Do you all live in warm climates, where your second hand is never in your pocket for warmth, or you need to use a stylus so you can keep your gloves on? Do you have someone follow you around, carrying your gear for you, so you always have both hands free? I get it, some people like the feature; i just can’t fathom why.
Oh, and Anthony Perez:
Please stop using “multitouch” as a synonym for “pinch-and-zoom”.
I have the iPod Touch and rarely use the pinch-zoom. I actually use the double-tap to zoom in 95% of the time, which the Droid can do.
Guys, just in case you don’t know. I setup my droid so when I open up a link, I just have to double click on the screen and it opens up to the exact text size I want. I clicked on the browser and went to “more” and then to “settings”. Then I changed the Text size to “Normal” and the “Default Zoom” to “close”. Now I just double click once and the text comes up exactly the size I like. Not sure if you knew about this, so I figured I would mention it.
Pinch and zoom is stupid, and so ared the people that use it. lol?
Don T.: Thanks. Just what I needed to see some of the print in the browser.