The Apple iPhone's impact was widely evident   at the Consumer Electronics Show, as new touch-screen devices could be found everywhere. The consumer electronics industry came unbuttoned in Las Vegas this week. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, companies from around the world many devices boasting (...) touch - sensitive technology, rather than traditional push-button controls. Motorola, Sony, and LG Electronics all showed off touch-screen phones this week. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates praised and offered a touch-screen computer, the Surface, related to a flat panel TV for a tabletop. Even camera makers, such as Kodak,included touch-screen LCDs in their devices. Touch-screen tech has been in use for years,but the push to develop and weave it into consumer electronics gathered steam with the June introduction of Apple's iPhone. "The touch-screen industry is really getting hot," says Jennifer Colegrove, a senior analyst at iSuppli. "Since the iPhone came out, there are a lot of companies that did not have a relationship with touch screens before that decided, 'OK, I want to make a touch screen, too.'" The touch-screen tech ecosystem now includes more than 100 companies specializing in everything from smudge-proof   screens to sensors   able to detect fingers before they even contact the screen. Sales of leading touch-screen technologies,such as those used in mobile phones and navigation   devices,are expected to rise to $ 4.4 billion in 2012, up from $ 2.4 billion in 2006,according to iSuppli estimates. The touch-screen tech was used in consumer electronics mainly because of    _   .
traditional push-button controls Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates the introduction of Apple's iPhone the touch-screen tech ecosystem