Touchstone Dock for Palm Pre Could Be a Pricey Option

Years ago, many mobile devices came with a cradle for charging and synchronization. These aren't in common use now, but Palm is hoping to change this with Palm Pre.

This upcoming smartphone won't come with a cradle, but users will have the option of getting the Touchstone docking station. Using magnetic inductive coupling, the user will just have to set their Pre on this dock for it to start charging. The main advantage of this, aside from the coolness factor, comes from the fact that the phone and dock will be held together with magnets, so the user will have the option to place the Pre on the dock with the screen in portrait or landscape mode.

The downside of this is it's starting to look like Touchstone won't be an inexpensive accessory. According to information that has leaked out of Sprint, this device will cost $70.

Naturally, a Touchstone won't be required to charge the Pre. It will simply be an optional way of both charging and displaying the device.

Palm Talks about the Touchstone
During a recent online question and answer session on the Pre, Matt Crowley, Product Line Manager at Palm, talked a bit about charging this device without the Touchstone:

 Via: Engadget