Proof of concept: Multi-touch on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

What would make Nokia’s first S60-powered (S60 5th Edition, that is) touchscreen handset better than it already is? Well, for starters, we’d love to see the US fleet of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic handsets actually working with 3G frequencies in the US. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for Nokia to get the bugs worked out on that end. On the other hand, the 5800 XM could put its touchscreen to even better use with some finger-lovin’ multi-touch support. And, it turns out that imaginative hackers have already started down the road to a multi-touch enabled Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

The video you see here demonstrates Jamie Fuller’s proof-of-concept application that keeps the hope alive for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic owners longing for a bit of two-finger touchscreen action. With a little “homebrew” magic, Jamie managed to develop a mobile game - not too unlike Guitar Hero - that has the user tapping the screen to a musical beat. For now, though, things on the multi-touch front are still strictly in the testing stage. Jamie hopes to get her multi-touch capable S60 application out to the public in due time, but needs some help putting the finishing touches to the app first.