I recently came across a link to a MSDN-Blogpost that claimed to solve Multitouch-Interaction Cross-Platform in the browser. I was intrigued and started to experiment with it. The first step was to gather some data on the promised cross-platform-aspect.
I basically asked everyone i knew to fire up their cellphones and try the link themselves. Here’s what we found.
| OS | Device | Browser | Points | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android 2.2.1 | htc Magic | Stock-Browser (Webkit) | 1 | 2 fingers zoom |
| Android 2.2.2 | Motorola Atrix | Opera 12 Android | 2 | |
| Android 2.2.2 | Motorola Atrix | Stock-Browser (Webkit) | 1 | 2 fingers zoom |
| Android 2.3.7 | htc Desire Z | Opera 12 Android | 4 | device-max |
| Android 2.3.7 | htc Desire Z | Stock-Browser (Webkit) | 1 | 2 fingers zoom |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy Note | Chrome Beta (0.18) | 8 | |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy Note | Firefox 12 | 1 | 2 fingers zoom |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy Note | Opera Mini | 0 | single touch scrolls |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy Note | Stock-Browser (Webkit) | 10 | |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy S2 | Chrome Beta (0.18) | 8 | possibly more |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy S2 | Dolphin HD (8.2.1) | 4 | |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy S2 | Firefox 12 | 1 | 2 fingers zoom |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy S2 | Opera 12 Android | 8 | possibly more |
| Android 4.0.3 | Samsung Galaxy S2 | Stock-Browser (Webkit) | 4+ | |
| iOS 4.2.1 | Apple iPod Touch | Safari | 5 | |
| iOS 5.1 | Apple iPod Touch (3rd Gen) | Safari | 5 | |
| iOS 5.1.1 | Apple iPhone 4 | Safari | 5 | |
| webOS | hp pre 3 | Stock-Browser | 0 | did not work |
| Windows Phone 7.5 | Nokia Lumia 800 | Internet Explorer 9 Mobile | 0 | did not work |
| Windows Phone 7.5 | Samsung Focus (SGH-i917) | Internet Explorer 9 Mobile | 0 | did not work |
Learnings
Apple supports multi-touch in the browser far enogh back that it won’t be an issue.
Android’s stock browser gains multi-touch capability in Android 4. Other broswers support it at 2.2 already. Firefox for Android doesn’t support multi-touch at the moment.
What i find puzzling is the fact that Microsoft’s own demo doesn’t run on the two Windows Phone 7.5 devices i could find. If anyone can successfully draw in that demo, please drop me a line.
Also, too few people own webOS-Devices.
Thanks to everyone who contributed! If you try it yourself, please send your findings to me, i’ll add them to the list.
