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November 6, 2009 12:27 PM PST

Droid does multitouch, Milestone does it better

by Scott Webster
  • 12 comments

The Droid doesn't do everything.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

One of the latest misconception to make its way around the blogspehere was that the Motorola Milestone features multitouch functionality whereas its Droid counterpart does not. As it turns out, Verizon's first Google Android smartphone does offer multitouch, just not in the same capacity. What's the difference and, more importantly, who made the decision to water down this feature for the Droid?

Made popular by the iPhone, pinching and pulling has become the preferred method for zooming in on a smart phone. While Verizon's Droid handset is built using the same Android 2.0 OS as the Milestone, users are left using a less-accurate double-tap.

The Milestone has multitouch built directly into the Android framework while the Droid relies on APIs that come with the 2.0 SDK. That means that it's up to app developers to implement the features.

For reasons unknown, however, Google hasn't integrated the capability into apps such as Google Maps. Though it could be added into future updates of select titles, the question remains: Who decided to leave basic multitouch off of Droid?

... Read more

Originally posted at Android Atlas
Scott Webster has spent the better part of his adult life playing with cell phones and gadgets. When not looking for the latest Android news and rumors, he relaxes with his wife and son. Scott also is the senior editor for AndroidGuys. Scott is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. E-mail Scott.
November 3, 2009 12:05 PM PST

Motorola Milestone is GSM Droid

by Scott Webster
  • 30 comments

Motorola Milestone

(Credit: Crave UK)

On Monday Motorola announced the first GSM Google Android 2.0 handset. Dubbed the Milestone, it's quite similar to Verizon's Motorola Droid save for a few changes.

The biggest difference is that the Milestone goes far beyond the Droid with its multitouch support. While the Droid allows you to zoom in and out on the home screen by double tapping, the Milestone also includes iPhone-like pinch capability. Squeeze your fingers together to zoom in on Web pages, maps and photos and spread them apart to zoom out. Android users have long hungered after this feature, which is why we got excited when we first heard that Android 2.0 would offer it. Hopefully, the Droid will get it since there's really no reason that it doesn't.

Another big chnage lies in the navigational software. Whereas the Droid comes loaded with the new Google Maps Navigator, Milestone offers MOTONAV, which is the company's own spoken turn-by-turn guidance and mapping system. Milestone also offers trial versions of their Easy Search, Lane Guidance, and Maps.

Meanwhile, the hardware remains nearly identical to Droid. Both have 3.7-inch 480x854-pixel resolution screens, 5-megapixel cameras with dual-LED flash, and 3.5mm headset jacks. But in a small change, the Droid comes with a 16GB microSD card and Milestone comes with an 8GB card. Internally, the only hardware difference is found in the radios; Droid is CDMA-based while Milestone is a quad-band GSM handset.

Italy and Germany will be among the first markets to carry Milestone with more countries coming later.

Originally posted at Android Atlas
Scott Webster has spent the better part of his adult life playing with cell phones and gadgets. When not looking for the latest Android news and rumors, he relaxes with his wife and son. Scott also is the senior editor for AndroidGuys. Scott is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. E-mail Scott.
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