Amazon acquires touchscreen maker

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 4 Feb 2010 at 08:55

Amazon has purchased flexible touchscreen maker Touchco, prompting speculation that the company is looking to upgrade the Kindle ahead of Apple's iPad challenge.

Touchco will be merged with Amazon's Kindle development division, and brings with it a technology called interpolating force-sensitive resistance that can detect different levels of pressure - allowing it to tell the difference between a finger and a pen, for example.

The technology can also register an unlimited number of simultaneous touches. However, the biggest advantage is that the technology should allow for completely transparent touchscreens.

Reports also suggest that the panels are considerably cheaper than the capacitive touchscreens found on Apple's iPads, potentially allowing the retail giant to undercut Apple on the pricing of its device.

While the technology sounds promising, it is still in early development and there's no word on how long it could take Amazon to incorporate it into the next generation of Kindle readers.

The companies have refused to comment on the the financial details of the deal.