So the creators of it get a feel for how many units will be bought straight away and also where in the World those purchases are going to happen so that they can work out which distribution chains should get priority.
It isn't going to speed up production, it isn't going to be terribly accurate but at least it could give a feel of the size and direction of demand within this community, which frankly is where most of the early sales will come from.
@Jae686, not really, I know the approximate price and specs. If I could I'd probably pre-order it. I'm *very* eager to get OGL ES code running on a handheld so there is no two ways about it for me. When they produce it, I'll be first in line to buy it.