When the original Android G1 launched in 2008, there were rumors that Apple had asked Google to avoid integrating a 3.5mm audio jack and multitouch gestures on the HTC G1 (given that Apple has patents related to both technologies). After Microsoft and Palm had got the multitouch magic for the Zune HD and Pre respectively, we were pretty certain that sooner or later Android would get multitouch support soon (oh, did I miss Windows 7 that features multitouch). However, no Android device in US has multitouch offered even though the same devices outside the US offer multi-touch magic right out of the box.
The latest chatter is that Apple pushed out multitouch from the Nexus One with a ‘polite’ request to Google. Leo Laporte of Windows weekly is said to have quoted sources from Google itself while making this claim. It is believed that the patent that Apple holds w.r.t multitouch technology isn’t very strong (implying that it won’t stand in the court of law if Apple files a lawsuit) and almost all handheld manufacturers are now using it in their latest releases. Given that Google and Apple aren’t at very friendly terms with a lot of their business interests now overlapping (Chrome OS, Android -iPhone, Admob-Quattro) and the infamous case of Google Voice on iPhone that has put Apple under the FCC scanner, perhaps both sides are avoiding a legal battle and ending up fighting in public. +At the same time, Google and Apple also have a history of friendly relationship. When quizzed in the past Andy Rubin of Google denied of Google denied any such lawsuit threat from Apple, but there is certainly more to this than what meets the eye!