Next to the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 could be the most anticipated handset out on the market. With it being the first phone to utilize the Google Android OS, many were wanting to see what the G1 was capable of. Apparently, one feature that was going to come with the G1 was left off, per request from Apple.

Multi-touch, is a technology that as of now is exclusive to the iPhone. The idea of the phone being able to pick up multiple points of touch has really added to the value of the handset. Google was looking to provide its users with the same experience, but was asked by Apple to leave it out.

There have been no official reasons as to why Apple made this request. There’s of course the obvious reason that Apple wants to have the only multi-touch phone on the market. But could this in fact hurt Apple in the long run? No one likes a bully, and is the pressure Apple is putting on Google fair?

Of course, right now it’s all pure speculation as to what is really going on between the friendly companies. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google is on the board of directors at Apple which could have something to do with the decision. It will be interesting to see if there’s a backlash from G1 users, and what will happen when they demand multi-touch capabilities. Quite a predicament indeed.

*UPDATED* – It should be noted that all of this is speculation, and rumor up to this point. Venturebeat cites an anonymous source for their tip, who happens to work on the Android team. This isn’t anything official though. Thanks to Eric for catching this.

[Source: Venturebeat]

Posted in Opinion, Rumors |