Palm's $70 Touchstone dock, other Pre accessories appear in Best Buy system

Looks familiar eh? If you're a fan of leaks and pre-release innuendo then you're already acquainted with Best Buy's internal inventory system. According to igmac, forum jockey and self-proclaimed Best Buy employee over at SprintUser, the first Palm Pre accessories have just been entered into the system. The list includes 5 cases (3 acrylic, 1 leather, 1 labeled "Palm Pre case") and the Touchstone charging kit which lists for a whopping $69.99 -- the same price already rumored. Really Palm, $70? We've been inductive charging our SoniCare toothbrush for years already -- the tech just isn't that amazing anymore, magnet or not. You'll note that the "in stock date" is listed as May 10th so with any luck we'll soon be hearing from Mr. BlurryCam with some shots from the warehouse.

[Via PreThinking]

[kain @ May 10th 2009 3:51AM]

i hope they have make a app that makes the palm pre into a clock when charging similar to the blackberry it was very useful but 70$ is a lot even though i might buy one

[Setnev @ May 10th 2009 4:13AM]

My G1 has a nice app like that used when it is being charged.

[000000 @ May 10th 2009 9:46AM]

Doesn't this come with the rubberized battery cover?

[Shaun @ May 10th 2009 11:29AM]

Does the fact that they only have 30 concern anyone?

[Glenn Tobey @ May 10th 2009 11:56AM]

I think that means that there are 30 boxes of docks inside of a large box they ship in.

[Nick @ May 10th 2009 11:56AM]

you know what engadgetmobile, if apple had released the iPhone with an inductive charger that sold separately, i guarantee you would not have your panties in a bunch if it sold for 70 dollars. you would say something like:

"$70, thats the price you got to pay for an unprecedented feature on a phone. better start selling those kidneys."

[atm @ May 10th 2009 12:44PM]

@nick

except the unfortunate truth is apple would probably double the price.

[required @ May 10th 2009 12:56PM]

It must be said that those tubesocks that apples sells for thier ipod are $30

[gouken85 @ May 10th 2009 1:38PM]

Lol at the Palm defence force. They complain everytime Apple does it, but they have no problem with Palm doing the same thing.

[BigD145 @ May 10th 2009 3:34PM]

A modified toothbrush base would probably cost half as much.

[webon @ May 10th 2009 3:52AM]

not 4 me

[Homeboy @ May 10th 2009 7:52AM]

Let me guess why. An Apple logo is missing. Take off your mask Steve Jobs, we know it's you.

I'm astound that engadget whine about price tags only when the products in question aren't from Apple. We have yet to see Thomas, Ryan, Darren or Joshua constructively criticise the price of the ludicrously priced Mac Mini, 17 inch MacBook Pro and similar. Hell they never even mention price and just sum up their opinions by claiming that the products are "good value".

[thisisit @ May 10th 2009 9:18AM]

PALMSUX!!!
APPLESUX!!!
WINMO7FTW!!!

[Rob Conway @ May 10th 2009 9:41AM]

Wow! Homeboy! Webon states a simple opinion of "not for me" and somehow you turn that into your anti-apple rant?
Webon, if you don't stop fucking Homeboy's girl in the asshole, he's never gonna stop hating you!

[Jonathan @ May 10th 2009 10:52AM]

Apple is in the position to charge whatever they want. Palm isn't. There's the difference.

[webon @ May 10th 2009 6:49PM]

I aint not gonna Lowa my selfs to yas level,



Im just saying 70 bucks is to steep for me, I will get the phone tho, maby even the cover that goes with the touch stone, but not the charger itself

[KC @ May 10th 2009 9:37PM]

I agree. I'm not buying any more Palm products. Each and everyone that I had from the Palm III, Palm IV and M101 had different sync cables and chargers. When we got the Centro last year, guess what? Yet another type of charging cable. My take on this new Pre is yet another charging accessory from Palm that you will never be able to use again on your Pre2 Pre3 or whatever that comes after the Pre.

[doubleu606 @ May 10th 2009 10:06PM]

KC: i would hardly classify micro-usb as palm giving us the shaft like with previous palm pilot/treo products.

[Death2Note @ May 10th 2009 4:03AM]

Engadget are making shit up..... again.

It does not say anywhere that the dock is 70$. The OP says the "touchstone kit" is 70$. not the dock.

*Goes and plays with his Wii. (No, not because my DSi battery ran out).

[cbw87 @ May 10th 2009 4:27AM]

They're not making shit up. It says "touchstone dock". Key word: "touchstone". It's perfectly clear what they're referring to. Maybe spend more time on your homework and less time playing with your toys, and you'll improve your ability to comprehend simple sentences.

[Gad Get @ May 10th 2009 6:45AM]

@ cbw87

Actually, it says "Palm Pre Touchstone Kit", so he's right; it likely does include more than just the charging pad itself. Probably not much more, but it will certainly include a cord and a matte back cover for the Pre, and quite possible an overly large cardboard box and some styrofoam molding and/or other protective packaging material.

BTW, it's perfectly reasonable for Palm to offer something like this for $70, considering their rival is Apple, who is not exactly known for excessively cheap accessories. :P

[cbw87 @ May 10th 2009 7:17AM]

@ Gad Get

I understand that. But the Touchstone won't be sold separately from the "kit"; so this is the price for the Touchstone "dock".

To "dock" one's Pre in the more conventional sense will, of course, be perfectly achievable without a Touchstone kit. The OP wasn't suggesting anything to the contrary, which is how I read Death2Note's statement.

[cbw87 @ May 10th 2009 7:21AM]

Btw, justification for my assertion that the Touchstone won't come/be usable separately from a "kit": the "kit" includes the bit you need to attach to the back of the Pre to make the inductive charging work.

[krische @ May 10th 2009 10:42AM]

cbw87

We don't necessarily know that. My guess would be that this "kit" includes the charger and the matte black cover. My guess would be that there is also going to product that is just the touchstone charger without the matte cover for a little bit less. There are a lot of people that wouldn't mind having two of these chargers (I'm one of them) but not two back covers.

[cbw87 @ May 10th 2009 11:14AM]

I hope you're right. I reckon perhaps not at launch, but eventually that's how it'll pan out.

[Luke @ May 10th 2009 4:05AM]

They can not justify the cost as passing production and material cost over to the buyer. It seems that a massive part of the cost is profit margin, not that there is anything wrong with that. They are free to sell it at any price they want but I feel most people will not take too kindly to that price point and can have a negative effect on the product image.

[Laura @ May 10th 2009 4:58AM]

It works for Apple.

[nerdtalker @ May 10th 2009 5:06AM]

Funny, a huge percentage of engadget's readership would argue that expensive price points are a feature, not a problem.

I find it hilarious (more like sad) that they call Palm out over a $70 charger/dock (which will work with an entire suite of other WebOS phones, present and future) when apple has just as many equally expensive and ridiculous accessories. Their mediocre earbuds, chicklet keyboards, even the overpriced proprietary display -> VGA/DVI/e.t.c. cables are all part of the nickle-and-dime apple club membership.

Whatever guys, whatever. Keep whining about that $70. It literally is the only thing you've got on it so far.

[Dragonfly @ May 10th 2009 5:43AM]

@ Laura

I hate to break it to you, but Palm ain't Apple. They don't have to brand kudos needed to get away with shit like that.

[ash @ May 10th 2009 6:34AM]

Well put, Dragonfly. My understanding was that the Pre was Palm's Chevy Volt. Although, in the case of Palm it's real whereas GM is fucked regardless whether their panacea pans out or not.

[giantenemycrab @ May 10th 2009 4:18AM]

Damn, didn't think they could out-price the Touchstone for me. Guess I was wrong. I forgot that it is Palm after all.

[Freakin Ijit @ May 10th 2009 8:10AM]

If you think the Pre's battery charger is expensive, wait til we find out the price of the Pre itself.

[Alfex @ May 10th 2009 5:13AM]

70$? Too much.
Palm needs to sell a lot in the next months if they want to survive. And this is not the right price to sell a lot...

[Dragonfly @ May 10th 2009 5:26AM]

"In stock 5/10/2009" thats a bit late ain't it?!

[jayjay @ May 10th 2009 6:38AM]

Dragonfly: For some people that means today. May 10th.

[Phoenix @ May 10th 2009 8:00AM]

that's american dating remember: the tenth of may.

yes, they do it the wrong way around. it makes sense to go from the smallest unit to the largest, but whatever

[Gi @ May 10th 2009 7:59AM]

bahaha
Happy Mothers Day

[msalivar @ May 10th 2009 8:22AM]

It makes more sense to go from the largest unit to the smallest, but whatever.

[Phoenix @ May 10th 2009 8:26AM]

yeah, but at least the rest of the world follows an order.

Look at it this way though.
With the time, the hour is generally most important, then the minutes, then the second. While specific things make minutes more important, this is not the norm.
With the DATE, the day is most important. When asked what date it is, we don't say "it's May", we say "it's the Tenth." Generally, the date will most relevant, then the month, then the year, since we assume everyone will know the month and year.

[Sqewie @ May 10th 2009 8:43AM]

Reading your comment the Americans have quite a logic. The same as the their measuring system. I mean how much foot fits in a yard? 1687,374848 foot? That's ridiculous. In the metric system everything is applieable with 10.

[matt merritt @ May 10th 2009 10:05AM]

@Sqewie

You do realize that it was the British that codified the Imperial System, correct?

[Mr. Picklesworth @ May 10th 2009 12:11PM]

It makes sense to just make it clear WTF you're writing. "May. 10, 2009". There, was that so hard?
And if you happen to be writing a user interface but can't figure out how to get that sorting logically, (thus are considering abandoning common sense), either change to a different UI toolkit or get a new job.

[bdav @ May 10th 2009 5:45AM]

I guess one has to hope that the $70 is MSRP, maybe they'll sell it when bought with the device for less or some similar offer.

[krische @ May 10th 2009 10:45AM]

Yeah don't think so. Cell phone accessories are always expensive. That his how the stores make up for the lack of a profit margin on phones.

It's the same as expensive video cables with TVs or expensive controllers with video game consoles.

[feffrey @ May 10th 2009 6:22AM]

Guys you are all getting worked up over nothing.
Of course their prices are over the top, this is Buy More remember?
Newegg will have this for like $30-$50 easy.

[Michael Leung @ May 10th 2009 6:43AM]

Wait, so it's not going to be part of the Pre out of the box?

That's just stupid.

[Phoenix @ May 10th 2009 8:00AM]

have you been living in a cave? how did you not realise this?

it kinda makes sense. not everyone will want it and it'd raise the price.
I'd still rather it was standard though

[Aaron @ May 10th 2009 6:58AM]

The touchstone is a great idea in theory but the convenience is outweighed by the price and decreased portability.

[cbw87 @ May 10th 2009 7:20AM]

+1

...and the fact that you've got to stick something to the back of your phone in order for it to work.

[Phoenix @ May 10th 2009 8:01AM]

You don't have to "stick" something on, you just change to a different battery cover which is the exact same size and shape as the other one... it's just matt instead of gloss...