The Google Nexus One has confused many people with the lack of multi-touch in the OS. We know that Android is capable of multi-touch functionality, so why isn’t it there? Regardless of the answer to that question the open nature of the Android ope rating system allowed a hacker to enable multitouch capabilities on Google’s Nexus One phone.
Cyanogen, a hacker in the Android community, released a modified version of the Android 2.1 OS that enables multitouch features for the Nexus One phone. The hack enables multitouch in the native Web browser only, but Cyanogen said he would be adding this functionality to other apps soon as well.
It’s not exactly clear why the Google Nexus One does not feature multitouch capabilities. Some believe it’s because of Apple and patents to the technology. No one seems to actually have an answer.
In comparison to the Apple iPhone, the Nexus One is noticeably missing multitouch features such as pinch-to-zoom in the Web browser or Maps and for the software keyboard. However, the multitouch hack for the Nexus one enables pinch-to-zoom in the browser and paves the way for gesture use in other apps as well.
The software hack to enable multitouch on the Nexus One can be downloaded from here, and install instructions are here. Before you start, Cyanogen warns that you will lose your bookmarks and browser settings, so it would be a good idea to back up first. As a little reminder, hacking your phone might result in voiding your warranty.