December 14th, 1999

[8:45 AM] Touchscreen iMac Maker Inks Deal With Apple Distributor
by Staff

Elo TouchSystems and Pinacor, Inc. have reached an agreement which will give consumers easier access to the Elo enhanced, touch screen iMacs (see our review). The Elo iMac with iTouch has shown to be a popular and practical solution for kiosk type uses. Accord to Elo:

Elo TouchSystems Inc., a global leader in touch technology, has signed a distribution agreement with Pinacor Inc., a leading distributor of technology products and services. Pinacor can now supply its resellers with both regular iMac computers from Apple Computer Inc. as well as iMac with iTouch from Elo. Elo is authorized as an Apple Direct Value Added Reseller (DVAR). The iMac with iTouch is the only kiosk-ready touch solution in the industry that preserves 100 percent of the iMac's image quality.

iMac with iTouch: A Great Interactive Kiosk

In April this year, Elo introduced its new iTouch "touch-on-tube" surface wave technology on the iMac, marking a major breakthrough for kiosk solutions. iTouch technology transforms the CRT itself into a touch sensor, allowing 100 percent light transmission, resulting in the highest quality image possible. Durability, important for the public access environment, is improved greatly because the CRT faceplate is stronger than even a bonded touchscreen overlay.

"Because of iMac's stunning design, outstanding graphics and gorgeous screen, Elo's iTouch technology can turn the world's best consumer computer into a great interactive display solution," says Chris Lincoln, national business development manager at Apple Computer.

Pinacor:

Providing Interactive Display Solutions "It's an integral part of Pinacor's distribution strategy to expand its solutions matrix in response to customer demand. We definitely see a market demand for interactive displays and kiosks," says Mike Seigfried, Pinacor's vice president of product marketing. "We have a very strong Apple reseller base that turns to us to meet its needs. Part of our Macintosh strategy is very much solutions marketing-based, so our resellers don't have to shop for all these products. Our relationship with Elo complements this strategy perfectly because their strength in the kiosk market helps us provide one-stop shopping solutions for our customers." We have lots of text that I will simply cut and paste.

You can find more information about the iMac with iTouch from Elo at the Elo TouchSystems web site.

The Mac Observer Spin: This is good for Apple and Elo TouchSystems both. We feel that Elo's product offers a lot of potential to expand Apple into a market where they have so far not have had much of a presence. That market is, of course, the kiosk market. That presence will in and of itself also help Apple sell boxes, or iMacs in this case, as more people get to see and use the computers in those kiosks. For this reason, a national distributor like Pinacor should really help Elo get their product into more kiosks.

For the record, the other markets like education, training, etc., are also important for both Apple and Elo. It is just that we see the most potential in the kiosk segment.

Elo TouchSystems - Pinacor