One Finger Zoom vs Multi-Touch Zoom in Xperia X10 ( with Video )

Multi-Touch on Xperia X10 had already received huge debate sessions over the internet, regardless of Clear explanation by Sony Ericsson that Xperia X10 is not capable of Muti-touch at the Hardware level, through their Product Blog.
But they also kept insisting on the fact that, they would come up with better solutions than Multi-touch Zooming or Pinch Zooming on their Xperia X10 Series. ( and further )
The Guys at Sony Ericsson Developer Blog had long ago demonstrated that, how the One touch ( or One Finger ) Zooming is going to look like in the Xperia X10 Mini Series. And they also promised that they would put out tutorials that would help Android Developers to Incorporate those features in their apps. It was really long ago and i’ve almost lost hope that they would publish something like that.
But today, i was surprised to read a tweet form @SonyEricssonDev stating that they are out with the first part of the Tuorial they planned, but what made me get more excited was that they have not only published the Tutorial with full source code, but they also made an app, so that you can keep track of new tutorials with the source code and demo on your Android Phone.

Let me tell you, the app is amazing. ( I loved the splash screen straight away! ) The app contains Tutorials for One Touch Zooming with several different Options and their demo. ( Yes the DEMO is included there. ) Although, you can’t access all the tutorials yet, ( guess they are not ready with it ) but you can of course see the demo it. And after seeing the Demo, i simply couldn’t wait for those tutorials.
Presently the app only contains two Tutorials

- One Finger Zooming

- 3D List

Both the tutorials are categorized with different difficulty levels and you start with basic mode and progress with more options adding to it. You can download the source code form the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog or straight from the App.
You can also download the Sony Ericsson Tutorial App Free from the Market. Just search for ” Sony Ericsson Tutorial “, without quotes and you’ll find it in the Android Market. You can view the demos or even download the tutorial if you are interested. Trust me, you’ll love the One Finger Zooming Concept.

- But what does this mean for the Xperia X10 owners?
Ofcourse, this means that the alternative to Multi-touch zoom that Sony Ericsson was taking about will look very similar to what is demonstrated in the App.
And trust me guys, after watching it in action on my Xperia X10 i can definitely say this is much better solution to zooming than Pinch zooming. And it seems so fluid.

- How does One Finger Zoom Works?
Let me describe it in detail, when you long touch your picture in Xperia x10, it vibrates ( it vibrates in the app giving you signal that, it can zoom now, but i guess this will be changed to a Zoom icon as in the X10 Mini. ) and then you can move your finger up and down to zoom in and out. As, simple as that.
Now when you release your finger, you can drag around the pic with kinetic dragging and Bounce effect. To zoom out simply double tap the picture or just repeat the process of zooming in. ( This is not working in tutorial but it surely works with the X10 Mini, so guess Xperia X10 will also have it and it makes sense too. )
Watch this video to get a better idea of what i want to explain.

- So, does this really beat Multi-Touch Zooming?
Keeping it plain and simple, YES! ( I’ve experienced it on my Xperia X10 and thats my Opinion. )

- Okay does that mean, it really solves the Problem of Lack of Multi-Touch on Xperia X10?
NO! Ofcourse, it solve the problem of so popular pinch zooming on Xperia X10, but it simply can’t replace the Multi-touch Function on Xperia X10. As i’ve said it numerous times that, Multi-touch is not all about Pinch Zooming. Mutli-touch is a very important aspect that is merely demonstrated by this famous Pinch Zooming function. It is used by developers everywhere, in games, apps keyboards. Read more about the Lack of Multi-Touch here on my First Impressions of Xperia X10 in India.
So, theres no excuse for Sony Ericsson not including Multi-touch on their flagship device. Sorry!

- So, when does this One Finger Zoom will be available for my Xperia X10?
Thats the biggest question at this point of time. AS, you can see in the video that, it’s not only the Zooming that has been changed, but also the gallery that got a new avatar. So, it’s pretty hard to say at this point of time that Xperia X10 would receive this One Finger Zoom in the Minor Firmware Update of Xperia X10 from R1FA016 to R2FB013 or to the one that Xperia X10 will receive in Q4, of this year, with Android 2.1 and HD Recording.

It’s a strong reply to the whiners who were really skeptical about the Solution the Sony Ericsson can bring to Pinch Zooming. Kudos to the @SonyEricssonDev Team. Hats off to you guys again!
Looking forward for more tutorials from you guys. It would be such a nice treat to implement those cool UI features on my Android App.

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Free Android Apps for Xperia X10-Download Now
2. MTV Sony Ericsson App exclusive for Xperia X10
3. Complete Smart Dialing Solution for Android Xperia X10
4. New Firmware update for Xperia X10 – R1FA016 just after worldwide launch with Bug Fix
5. BackUp Apps and SMS on Xperia X10 before Upgrading

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