Palm has revealed that the Touchstone isn’t just a wireless charging pad for the Palm Pre, it’s the first of a slew of new accessories, using wireless wizardry to create add-ons that are more lust-worthy than a chocolate covergirl.
Which accessories you ask? Palm’s keeping its plans under wraps, but read on for six accessories we reckon Palm Touchstone technology could revamp with all new wireless superpowers!
1. Wireless dock
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. If the Palm Pre can charge wirelessly using the Touchstone, it’s a short stretch to hook up a data cable too. We’ve gazed into our gadget-shaped crystal ball and foresee the first Touchstone accessory to be a bonafide wireless dock. Slap the Palm Pre on a table, and it’ll hook up to a PC, whether that’s for syncing data, loading music and movies, or tethering to get the PC online through the Pre’s 3G connection.
2. Speakers
The Touchstone’s wireless abilities could unleash a new wave of mobile speakers and turn the Palm Pre into an all-singing music phone. By side-stepping the slightly dodgy quality of Stereo Bluetooth, but keeping all the wire-free wonderment, a Touchstone-powered set of speakers would cut the cord but keep tunes blasting at full fidelity.
3. TV dock
With data and music sorted, the next logical step is to combine them into a Touchstone dock that funnels video direct from the Palm Pre to a HD TV. Setting the phone down could turn it into a miniature set-top box, serving up video and music, alongside photos. It could even appeal to business users, letting high-powered sales types give presentations without the hassle of cables.
4. Touchstone Folio
The Web OS inside the Palm Pre is too powerful to stay locked up inside a smartphone. We’d love to see Palm re-issue its Folio, a sort of big screen, and big keyboard designed to pair with mobile phones, specifically for use with the Pre. If palm built in Touchstone technology, the two could communicate just by sitting next to each other.
5. USB Touchstone for tethering
Of course, not everyone wants a Folio, but show us a laptop user who wouldn’t welcome simple tethering to get their portable leg-warmer online, and we’ll show you a liar. Palm would be foolish if it didn’t offer a USB touchstone, letting Pre owners hook up their phones to a laptop wherever they are without the fuss of wires, or the hassle of awkward setup. Of course, this would also double as a Touchstone Dock (see above).
6. Touchstone headset
Bluetooth headsets have an annoying habit of needing their own charger, but not with Palm’s Touchstone technology inside. Imaging being able to place the headset on the same charger as the Palm Pre to juice it up. Even better, if it runs low on power while you’re out and about, a couple of minutes held to the back of the Pre itself could leach enough power to keep you waffling on the way home.
Which is your favourite potential for Palm Touchstone? Have we missed any obvious Touchstone uses off the list? Have your say in our vote below.
TBC | £TBC | Palm
