The problem with the Touchstone and why it's rather unremarkable is that it only handles a single device.

Induction charging is nothing new nor is it something uncommon in homes - my wife's electric toothbrush has charged this way for years.

But how much of a convenience is it? Contrast to my own electric toothbrush which just takes a normal AA. I keep a NiMH cell in it which lasts at least a few months. It's such little effort to swap out the battery every now and then that I don't notice any inconvenience of not having a charger. In fact it's a convenience because it's one less thing to keep track of, to clutter the counter, to clean, and of course to keep plugged in.

The wireless mats shown for years at CES are a "neat" concept because they'd ideally support a wide assortment of products, all or any of which could just be dropped onto the mat as you'd simply drop them on a table top.

The Pre's solution while convenient from the point of view where you don't need to make any careful docking connection isn't really such a big deal. Compare the docking experience of an iPod or iPhone. The thing just slips right into its dock without any fuss. It's not something you need to keep plugged in constantly either.

Now, if we had an entire desk's surface able to charge gadgets, that's something significant. If you included a charger in the box that worked through induction and didn't significantly add to the cost of the product, that too would be fine.

The Pre's implementation is more of a gimmick and that's why I didn't even blink when I saw it announced. Plus, they put magnets in the handset itself to hold it to the charger? It will be interesting to see if that idea comes back to bite them in the ass if people start finding other things getting magnetized or demagnetized because of their Pre.