Amazon acquires Touchco

Amazon has purchased flexible touch screen maker Touchco in an apparent attempt to better compete against Apple's new product, the iPad.  It is thought that Amazon plans to use the technology developed by Touchco to offer a touch-screen interface with its Kindle e-readers. The current Kindle has to be controlled by buttons. The move comes as the Kindle faces increased competition both from other e-reading devices such as the Sony Reader and tablets like AppleÔÇÖs forthcoming iPad. According to a report in the New York Times, Amazon plans to merge Touchco's technology and researchers into its Kindle hardware division in Cupertino, California. Touchco was formed by a team of computer scientists from New York University's Media Research Lab to develop multi-touch screens with a technology called interpolating force-sensitive resistance (IFSR). The technology uses resistors that are sensitive to different levels of pressure. Touchco has said that its screens can distinguish between the touch of a finger and the pressure of a pen or similar device. The company has designed its technology to work with full-color LCD screens, similar to those used in the iPad and Hewlett-PackardÔÇÖs coming line of tablet PCs. The screens can be used in e-readers and other devices and cost as little as $10 per square foot, according to the report. Amazon currently uses screen technology from market leader E-ink, which was bought by Taiwanese manufacturer Prime View International last year. E-ink technology is used in a number of e-readers, including Sony's Reader. Steven Kessel, an Amazon senior vice president for digital media, has previously said that it would be technically easy to add touch to the Kindle, but that Amazon had so far resisted, as it reduces the reading legibility and clarity of the display, as well as increasing glare. It is not yet clear how much Amazon has paid for Touchco, but it is thought the start-up has only around six employees. Amazon has been seeking to compete with Apple on other levels recently; last month, it announced plans for a Kindle apps store, hoping to encourage developers to create the same wide range of programs for the Kindle that they have created for the iPhone and the iPad. TouchcoÔÇÖs website now simply says: ÔÇ£Thank you for your interest in Touchco. As of January 2010, the company is no longer doing business.ÔÇØ