Thursday, February 04, 2010

Amazon buys touch-screen company. Kindle upgrade?


Amazon aparently wants to upgrade its Kindle e-reader to compete head-on with the Apple iPad In a move toward that confrontation, Amazon has acquired Touchco, a start-up based in New York that specializes in touch-screen technology.

The acquisition “would suggest Amazon is looking to expand its platform perhaps beyond e-readers to encompass more functionality and more content,” said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Lazard Capital. “It also could help them address some of the form-factor issues with the Kindle,” allowing it, for example, to replace the physical keyboard with a virtual one, he said.

“If touch screens were added to the Kindle or other Amazon devices, it would bring them up to date with the plethora of other screens consumers are becoming used to,” Mr. Sebastian said. “Any device is at a disadvantage if it doesn’t offer it.”

From The New York Times

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