Kindle acquires touchscreen technology maker Touchco

Posted by Alisa Zykova on February 4, 2010 at 8:31 AM

InformationWeek divulged Thursday that Amazon may have acquired Touchco, a touchscreen technology manufacturer. According to a New York Times (NYT) article from Wednesday "a person briefed on the deal" revealed that Amazon would be combining the manufacturer's technology and staff members into its California-based hardware division Lab126.

The acquisition was reportedly a step to boost Kindle's touch screen mechanism in light of the launch of Apple's new device iPad, said the Wall Street Journal. The iPad is thought to be better than Kindle because it has a more colourful screen and is easier to navigate.

Touchco uses "interpolating force-sensitive resistance" technology that is placed into display screens, pointed out NYT. The technology could be entirely transparent and could cost as little as US$10 per square foot. Capacitive touchscreens used in the iPad and iPhone are relatively more pricey and cannot detect a limitless amount of simultaneous touch points.