Rumour Report: Nexus One could have multi-touch in European model
A report on claims that a Nexus One unit displayed at CES indicated that a European version of the handset could support multi-touch gestures when it becomes available with Vodafone in spring this year.
Multi-touch on Android seems to be more a question of patents than of technical feasibility. Apple has laid claim to protection for multi-touch gestures on touch-screens in the US, but it’s conceivable that non-US versions of the phone could come with the technology enabled when launched later this year.
There is in fact already a precedent for this as the US version of the Droid/Milestone does not support multi-touch capabilities whilst the European Milestone does.
Update: Andy Rubin has poured cold water on this rumour during a with the Wall Street Journal. Rubin expresses a preference to be able to operate his phone entirely with one hand rather than using two hands as is often the case when performing a pinch gesture, so it would seem to be more a question of design choice than patents.
