Touchscreens heat up enthusiasm for gadgets

More and more shoppers are willing to spend on gadgets with a touchscreen — even if it means they lose on extra features and better quality.

Touchscreen technology has been sweeping consumer electronics, leaving few devices untouched, and even digital cameras are affected.

Commonly found in monitors in airports, banks and other public places, the technology is now a staple in consumer products, thanks to Apple Inc's popular iPhone and phones by companies such as Palm Inc.

Joining them are computer desktops, calculators, MP3 players and watches that let users control functions by tapping, sliding or dragging a finger.

Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's biggest computer maker, launched touchscreen PCs, signaling the trend was spreading to computers. Swiss watchmaker Tissot even has a "T-Touch" line of touchscreen watches.

Customers want touchscreen devices because they are well designed, are "cool" and have no buttons.

"Touch, being one of the five human senses, is a very intuitive way of how you interact with devices," said Francis Lee, chief executive of Synaptics, whose touchscreen technology is used in devices from Research In Motion's new BlackBerry Storm to Apple's iPhone.

In New York, taxis have touchscreen television sets that come with the message: "Touch, don't press."

Global touch-screen module revenue is forecast to grow to $6.4 billion by 2013, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent from 2008, according to market researcher iSuppli.