Apple Asked Google Not To Use Multi-Touch?
February 10, 2009
It's nice to finally hear companies playing nice together instead of the constant legal battles and negotiations. According to an unnamed Google Android team member, Apple politely asked Google not to use multi-touch in their Android platform and Google willingly complied.
The Android team member stated that Google didn't want to risk its positive relationship with Apple over the multi-touch controls. Google and Apple have had a solid relationship for some time now, even recently Google has released all kinds of new software specifically tailored for the iPhone.
The source said Google didn't want to end up like Palm. Palm and Apple have had a public battle of words since the announcement of the Pre, which will be the first smartphone to use multi-touch controls other than Apple's iPhone. Even if Apple doesn't pursue any legal action against Palm, the relationship has already been somewhat tarnished.
The question remains, how will Apple utilize its abundant array of iPhone specific patents? It's unclear if Apple will actually pursue any legal battles concerning multi-touch implementation in other devices or just simply wave the patents in the faces of the competition. Either way, it's an intelligent move for Google to steer clear of the issue for the time being.
[via VentureBeat]