In the olden days, at the turn of the century, mobile devices came with cradles.  I used to love the cradle, because you could sync and charge your device, while keeping it in a convenient position on your desk, which allowed you to easily access the controls and screen.  Over time, the cradle has been phased out of most devices, primarily for cost savings.  So, I was excited when I bought the Palm Pre to find a cradle of sorts, in the form of the Touchstone charger.

Calling the Touchstone a cradle, however, is a bit of an understatement, like calling the Palm Pre a handheld PIM device.  It has evolved far beyond those humble roots.  The Touchstone is a small, smooth disc which sits atop a raised and angled platform.  The bottom is sticky, so it will not slide around on your desk, while the top is angled in order to hold the Pre in a position which allows you to access the screen and controls easily while it is connected to the Touchstone. 

But by now, you have probably noticed that the upper surface of the Touchstone is completely smooth (aside from the Palm lettering), so how will the Pre stay on there.  It must take some significant feat of balancing to make this one work.  Or magic.  In reality, as with most seeming magic tricks, the answer is much simpler than the apparent illusion.  There is a magnet in the base of the touchstone, and a similar magnet in the special Touchstone back which you will put on your Pre.  all you need to do is drop the Pre (and by that, I mean gently place) onto the Touchstone and let the magnets do the rest of the work. 

Of course, the best part of the Touchstone charger is the complete lack of cables between the charger and the Pre.  simply by resting on top of the Touchstone, the Pre will receive a charge.  Now that is pretty cool.  In order for this to work, you will need to use a specially designed back (just snap off the plastic back and snap on the new one).  In addition to the magnet I mentioned earlier, the special back has a copper connector, which connects the back to the battery, setting it up to receive the charge from the Touchstone. 

Aside from being able to charge with the Pre, I really liked this special back for the Pre, because of its rubberized texture.  The normal back is made from a slick plastic, which left me in constant fear of dropping my Pre like a slick bar of soap.  The new back felt significantly more secure in my hand, which I loved.  I wish this back had come standard on the Pre.

To get the Touchstone working, you will need to plug it into the wall (hey, it can’t all work on magic).  There is a slot in the back, which can connect to the micro USB cable which came with your Pre.  Now, here is the deal, the connection is recessed and angled, so only the cable which came with the Pre is going to easily be able to fit in there.  Pretty sneaky.  Of course, the other end of that cable is a standard USB connector.  I tried plugging it into the USB port on my computer with no success.  The Touchstone and Pre just take up too much power for that.  I also found that my other universal AC adaptors were too underpowered for this job.  The only AC adaptor which could power this contraption was the Palm adaptor which came with the Pre.

This setup would have been fine, except that the Touchstone does not include a USB cable or AC adaptor, which means you will need to grab the one that came with your Pre.  This was a bit more than a small hassle.  It means you need to disconnect the Touchstone every time you want to sync the Pre.  It also means that you cannot set up multiple Touchstone chargers without buying additional equipment.  This is unfortunate, it really would have been better if the Touchstone has included all of the necessary equipment to connect it to the wall socket.

I have to say that the Touchstone may be one of my favorite parts of the Palm Pre.  It just feels like magic, with the Pre simply hovering on top of the Touchstone, absorbing power, as though from mid-air.  Frankly, it looks even more amazing than it sounds.  And it really adds a significant angle to the what is already an incredible device.

What I Liked:

• No wires connect the Palm Pre to the Touchstone
• Small footprint
• Convenient angle allows use while docked for charging

What Needs Improvement:

• Rubberized charging back should be standard
• Box should include a cable and AC adaptor

Where To Buy: Palm

Price: $69.99 ($79.99 with cable and AC Adaptor)