Google has enhanced the user experience of its HTC-manufactured Nexus One smartphone by adding a feature that had been available only on Apple’s rival iPhone. Pinch-to-zoom functionality is now available for the Nexus One’s Android browser via an over-the-air download. The function also works with Google Maps and the phone’s photo gallery.
The feature, already available on some third-party Android apps, is an idea Google may have, well, pinched from Apple.
“The new pinch feature certainly copies the iPhone experience as it relates to opening and viewing applications on the device,” said senior telecommunications analyst Kirk Parsons of J.D. Power and Associates.
Opens the Door for Developers
But Parsons said it’s now up to Google to create more applications that make the most of the new feature.
“The jury is still out on whether it will offer a more unique experience versus the iPhone,” Parsons said. “Clearly it opens the door to developers that offer services and applications that utilize that pinch feature, so future new apps most likely will follow on the Google apps web site.”
Pinch-to-zoom is part of the patch promised last week by Google to correct issues with 3G coverage. Also included is Google Goggles, an app that allows users to snap a photo of an object and search for data about it; automatic night mode for Google Maps; and location search suggestions from the user history.
Nexus One owners can access the update after receiving a message on the notification bar. Google said most users won’t receive the notification until the end of the week.
What Took So Long?
The potential advantage of multi-touch capability — a term Google seems to be avoiding for legal reasons — raises the question of why Google didn’t introduce the feature from the beginning.
“I think some people are going to ask why they didn’t have it at…
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