What's the best way to detect a 'touch screen' device using JavaScript?

Question

I\'ve written a jQuery plug-in that\'s for use on both desktop and mobile devices. I wondered if there is a way with JavaScript to detect if the device has touch screen capa

Answer 1

Using all the comments above I've assembled the following code that is working for my needs:

var isTouch = (('ontouchstart' in window) || (navigator.msMaxTouchPoints > 0));

I have tested this on iPad, Android (Browser and Chrome), Blackberry Playbook, iPhone 4s, Windows Phone 8, IE 10, IE 8, IE 10 (Windows 8 with Touchscreen), Opera, Chrome and Firefox.

It currently fails on Windows Phone 7 and I haven't been able to find a solution for that browser yet.

Hope someone finds this useful.