Amazon to Hire Touchco Specialists after the Deal

Amazon announced that it is buying a New York company that makes low-cost touch screensits. The move is aimed to reinforce the  company's e-reader, the Kindle.

Touchco, which was founded in the New York University Media Lab, offers a technology that enables a gadget to differentiate between the pressure applied by a finger or a pen.

The know-how is said to be a cheaper alternative to the technology that Apple uses, and could lead to a more direct product rival, something like a Kindle Touch.

A message on Touchco's Web site yesterday read: "Thank you for your interest in Touchco. As of January 2010, the company is no longer doing business." Its six employees are expected to join Amazon's staff.

New York Post has contributed to the report.