Palm Pre Touchstone eyes-on

This isn't a Palm-branded party favor, a paperweight, or a doorstop. Actually, sure, it could be any of those things if you really wanted it to be -- but Palm's Touchstone is mainly about charging your Pre and making sure it looks pretty while it's getting juiced. It's a pretty wild product (and the first accessory purchase for many a would-be Pre owner, we'd bet), so we wanted to spend a little quality time with it. We weren't allowed to do much charging on our own, but the magnets buried in the Pre certainly seemed to do their job of keeping it glued to the base in portrait and landscape orientations. Oh, and just to validate what we know you're thinking right now, yes: we overheard several Palm employees call it "the puck," so you should, too.

Gallery: Palm Pre Touchstone eyes-on

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[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 10th 2009 10:06AM]

I'm trying to get excited about a charging dock, I really am.

Give me a little time.

[on Amazon a Wii inductive charging dock is about $35 WITH =two= sets of inductively-charge-enabled battery packs]

[Flashpoint @ Jan 10th 2009 10:24AM]

I understand how you feel. After Engadget has already featured several wireless charging pads/devices, the charging of the Pre just isn't as exciting as they'd now make it out to be.

I'm more interested in its ability to open multiple web pages or programs. I want to see how well it performs audio/video programs.
After all, I been on iPhone for over a year and just like the Storm, I'm using iphone as the benchmark for the Pre when I get my hands on it.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 10th 2009 10:35AM]

Given the dearth of REAL hands-on (where a NON-Palm person is hands-on-ing it), I'd like to see how fast it breaks in two.

[Gaines @ Jan 12th 2009 10:56AM]

I'm a pretty loyal Windows Mobile user, however what I've seen so far is very impressive and may entice me to switch. We've even started a community over at http://www.SprintPre.net to chat about it.

[YpoCaramel @ Jan 10th 2009 10:09AM]

It is cool, but a wired charger takes desk space and less money. But if you have money, I guess, by all means.

[Will @ Jan 10th 2009 10:56AM]

This eludes me. Why would I want anything more than a cord to charge my phone? Space is always at a premium for me, either on my desk, as you say, or in my suitcase when I travel.

[YpoCaramel @ Jan 10th 2009 11:57AM]

cashmonee makes a good point about syncing as well, although ultimately I think phones should head towards some kind of over-the-airing syncing built in (Windows Mobile and Exchange is annoying for the private user). Another problem with this as a show-off piece is that it will remain at home or the hotel room, but I can see it being a cute conversion topic for the cubicle (not that there aren't millions of those out there).

[iofthestorm @ Jan 10th 2009 1:32PM]

You can still charge through MiniUSB if that's what floats your boat.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 10th 2009 2:36PM]

MiniUSB, I wish. The Pre uses microUSB. So all those miniUSB cables you have for your camera, PS3, etc. are useless on this. Still, at least it is a standard cable so you don't have to buy an overpriced proprietary one from Palm.

[Jeremy K. @ Jan 10th 2009 6:05PM]

I must be the only person who thinks this is awesome. I really dislike having to plug a cable into my phone to charge it up. With this I just place it on the pad and it charges. I want one!

[Yevon @ Jan 10th 2009 10:10AM]

Hey Engadget guys, you are missing two images in the gallery

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/palm-pre-touchstone-eyes-on-07_thumbnail.jpg
&
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/palm-pre-touchstone-eyes-on-08.jpg

do not exist. Just thought you should know.

[Mark @ Jan 10th 2009 10:12AM]

I'll pay extra $$$ if you can use it as a belt clip.

[Don @ Jan 10th 2009 10:20AM]

So where would the puck get power from?

[KAIKAI @ Jan 10th 2009 2:10PM]

@don
you dont want to know......

[thelolman @ Jan 10th 2009 9:34PM]

@KAIKAI

Oh "she" would know....

[titanium man @ Jan 10th 2009 10:19AM]

Pre Price?
Touchstone price?

[Jonathan @ Jan 10th 2009 10:26AM]

No word on price, but the Palm guy in the video at crackberry.com says it will be very reasonable and thought most would buy it. My guess it in the 60-90 dollar range.

[ps. the video is pretty good. the Palm rep is one of the better ones I have heard in videos]

[huh @ Jan 10th 2009 10:23AM]

It strikes me as quite gimmicky unless it is compatible with other devices, otherwise you are just saving one cable (and I assume this charger needs to be plugged in), and carrying this you while travelling would be a pain. Then again, the phone would not be very good in general if you travel off Sprint's network, eg any world roaming would be awkward, since it is so net-bound (like iPhone's GPS, which doesn't work at all without the net), and it's not compatible with the very common GSM standard.

[ZeRo @ Jan 10th 2009 1:40PM]

Way to put a damper on my day... now i can only hope for the gsm version with american 3G

[Neeko @ Jan 10th 2009 10:28AM]

PLEASE just release a date and price for all this. I have my $$ ready lets get on with it.

[deon @ Jan 10th 2009 10:38AM]

good night my friend, save your self for a good people, please, help me for backlink

[Tony @ Jan 10th 2009 11:08AM]

I don't know a lot about inductive charging, but from what I've read it uses electromagnets. Aren't strong magnetic fields typically bad complicated consumer electronics? (i.e. the memory, the processors, the lcd screen)

[Tony @ Jan 10th 2009 11:09AM]

That should read "bad FOR complicated..."

[superhobo @ Jan 10th 2009 11:30AM]

Its bad for the ones that depend on magnetic fields for their operation. Like CRT monitors, floppy disk, and hard drives.

The field produced by this isn't dangerous (obviously).

[superhobo @ Jan 10th 2009 11:29AM]

If I had a Touchstone and a Pre I'd probably throw the phone at it and let it catch it.

[cashmonee @ Jan 10th 2009 11:36AM]

How is this any different than a normal dock? In fact, if it does not allow syncing, it is worse than a normal dock(Unless they sync over WiFi). Gimmick.

[yrag @ Jan 10th 2009 11:37AM]

What the puck! (sorry)

I think it could be kinda convenient to just plunk your Pre on that think without needing to fiddle to plug it in. I just don't know if Palm is going to move nearly as many of these as they had hoped now that the economy has dropped a manhole cover on discretionary/frivolous spending for a lot of folks.

[David @ Jan 10th 2009 11:52AM]

I don't think people are seeing the next logical version of this: a car version. It would make a great wireless cradle in a car. Wireless charging while everything else is over Bluetooth. I know I'd get one.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 10th 2009 11:57AM]

> ...Wireless charging while everything else is over Bluetooth...

No voice dial on the Pre.

[RamJaw @ Jan 10th 2009 12:00PM]

What's the point of wireless charging, if you still have to put it on the puck dock? The puck still has a wire. When I plug the iPhone into the dock, it's pretty much the same deal. The extra effort required to put it on the dock connector is extremely miniscule, and I've never thought it a nuisance.

When products charge by simply putting them on your desk within let's say 10 feet of the puck, THAT will be amazing, and worth writing home about.

[Anomoly @ Jan 10th 2009 1:59PM]

I thought the same exact thing. Is it REALLY such a big deal to plug in a phone? This might be helpful in a car if your driving but it takes all of 2 seconds to plug a phone in. And if you have to place it on a dock it's not saving you that much trouble, around a dock (say a foot or two)... now were cooking.

[Andreas @ Jan 10th 2009 3:50PM]

@RamJaw

Wow - you really havent thought this one through have you? Having just gotten past the era of people thinking that cellphones can cause cancer (ever been fully debunked?) you dont having a strong magnetic field with a 10 foot radius would illicit worse reactions or myths?? How about those monitors that will be set off by the magnetic field? and any potential interference with ALL of you other wireless signals traveling through the area? You might be on a pipe dream if you're thinking 10 foot radius for wireless power. As an engineer the concept of transmitting current wirelessly is quite a lofty one. Stop being a cynical a$$ and be happy that the everyday consumer is starting to see the end product of the past 10 years of research. I'm starting to think that if it actually did have a 10 foot range - you'd have found something else about it to hate....

[RamJaw @ Jan 10th 2009 6:44PM]

No, no. I've thought it through. And I think my comment is completely justified and not at all cynical. I actually would like to understand how I'm even remotely cynical, because if I am, so is @Anomoly. I don't need to start a flame war on that is offtopic, so this is the last thing I'll say:

1. Cell phone reception has nothing to do with magnetic fields. Magnetic fields are constantly around us. Even if I bought into the cynical-anti-technology-conspiracy that cell phones are giving us cancer, the charging mechanism would hardly accomplish the same thing.

2. I love technology, but I'm not going to idly be happy simply because some useful technology has been implemented in a rather useless way like you suggest.

Call me cynical or whatever you want, but my original point still remains, and is quite valid: What is the point of wireless charging if it still needs to be tethered?

[Booshack @ Jan 13th 2009 9:38AM]

First of all, cell phone reception has everything to do with magnetic fields. The earth's magnetic field is static; it will not induce a current in conductors, but it will polarize them. A cell phone signal is an alternating magnetic field at high frequency - but not high enough frequency to induce a current in water. This is why cell phones and this charger are harmless to humans, and why microwave ovens will boil you from the inside :)

From maxwell's equations you will find that a changing magnetic field induces a current in conductors due to boundary conditions. That is the main problem with wireless charging, you will create a substantial current in ALL electronics around that electromagnetic field (the field cannot be directed in any significant way).
It is also the foundation of wireless charging, in that when you place two coils close to eachother, an alternating current in one coil will cause an alternating current in the other coil, thus creating a transformer - a rather old invention, proving that Andreas is an arrogant ass that knows nothing about electromagnetics. Oh and yeah, wireless charging has been used for years in toothbrushes and shavers.

I agree with you completely RamJaw, this is just a useless gimmick. The only reason that it hasn't been used yet is that it is such a useless gimmick. Oh and it's also notoriously ineffective, producing a large amount of heat in the charger and in the phone.

[RamJaw @ Jan 13th 2009 9:51AM]

Thanks for the clarification Booshack. I wasn't aware that cell reception was magnetic. It appears that you do your homework!

[paul @ Jan 10th 2009 12:29PM]

Do you guys not have a flash on your camera? Jesus.

[Cameron @ Jan 10th 2009 12:47PM]

Jesus works for Engadget? Wow, who knew?

[Gotme @ Jan 10th 2009 1:17PM]

Hardware; it doesn't have the flair as iPhone does
The rest of the stuff they pretty much copy from the iPhone and added their own touch. oh yeahh— The Charger??!?!? Big Deal! At least with iPhone is compact, traveler friendly.

Apple just Rock the Industry and everybody else is playing catch up.
Wait till they come up with iPhone Nano, everyone else will be on the band wagon

[Neeko @ Jan 10th 2009 1:23PM]

If you really believe all that "they copied APPLE" crap then you need to watch the Palm keynote about the pre again.

What palm did creating "Synergy" and the "Cards" approach to apps is completely original. And a brilliant approach to bringing everything together.

NOTHING APPLE CREATED.

[Dorv @ Jan 10th 2009 2:50PM]

Christ. People like you give the rest of us Apple Fans a bad name.

For the record, I'm an iPhone user who is very intrigued by this new piece of tech. Its the first "clone" (and I say that with sarcasm) that actually looks impressive.

[Joe H @ Jan 10th 2009 1:23PM]

Well for one, what's nice about this is apparently it can be stuck to a wall and stay there fine.

Even if that doesn't work as well as has been said, the key thing about this is the software behind it. When a phone call comes in if you pick it off the Touchstone it answers the phone. If you press the answer button and leave it on the dock, it automatically puts it on speakerphone. In other words, it acts like a real phone would. Simple stuff really, but that's the sort of intelligence that is rarely seen on products like these.

[Gotme @ Jan 10th 2009 1:30PM]

Yeah Sure, I ask you

Who Planted the Seed?

[John @ Jan 10th 2009 1:54PM]

I can't wait to buy the "paim" branded knock-off on eBay direct from Hong Kong!

KiRF...FTW!

[Keith @ Jan 10th 2009 3:41PM]

It's funny how so many comments talk about the puck being a stupid/useless idea. Yes it might have its limitations of being an at home charger, but what other main stream phones are using the wireless charging technology? If you are actually gadget buffs you would enjoy this idea just for the idea in itself. I think that's what they are getting at in this blog. Oh and to the people complaining about desk space, you don't NEED to buy it.... you can use that wonderful micro USB that probably comes with the phone when you buy it. Something also tells me its not too hard to find a micro USB cable either ;)

[Surur @ Jan 10th 2009 4:54PM]

Its the pile of defensive iPhone fanboys. If Apple released this (in white of course) it would be the greatest innovation in the world.

[Laura Balsam @ Jan 10th 2009 6:22PM]

The poorly made and non-standard connectors Palm has been using for several years are annoying and unreliable.

This looks simple to use, elegant and reliable. If so, it is more than worth it.

[Phoenix @ Jan 11th 2009 9:56AM]

The Pre uses a standard Micro USB

[joe blow @ Jan 10th 2009 9:10PM]

Will this work on an iphone????

[Phoenix @ Jan 11th 2009 9:57AM]

Oh jesus christ...

[Ellienads @ Jan 20th 2009 6:02PM]

lol @ Phoenix