Dave's Download

Palm Pre's Touchstone Might Move Data, Too

By David LaGesse

Posted: April 13, 2009

One of the innovations coming with the Palm Pre is its Touchstone charger, which will wirelessly juice the handset's battery. It's at the forefront of a variety of wireless charging products that are expected this year.

Now comes word that the charger is just one in an expected line of accessories, according to a demo posted by a blogger tnkgrl Mobile. Bloggers have speculated on what other types of gear might rely on the new Touchstone tech. Many have focused on transferring data through the charger's wireless connection, which uses magnetic fields to send small electrical impulses to recharge the battery.

Here's a clip of the video:

I'm not sure yet another way to transfer data makes sense. The smartphone will already have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and high-speed 3G data for wireless links, as well as USB for wired.

But in rooting around, I was interested to learn that data can in fact be transferred via magnetic induction, at least according to this old patent application.

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Dave's Download

Our in-house gadget guru, Senior Writer David LaGesse, checks out the latest technologies and gizmos, from computer software to GPS systems -- and reports back to you in plain English.


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