Finally upgraded from a G1! proprietary charger?

[Spoo76]

Finally upgraded from my G1 and i must say i love it so far.
stock froyo is soooo smooth compared to a rooted G1 even with my beloved cyanogen rom


one issue however
I really thought the N1 had the same Mini USB that many phones,generic MP3s and cameras have
Motorola & HTC, to name 2.
I know it shouldn't be a big deal but I hate having to buy new chargers every time I upgrade phones.
with the shorter battery life of smart phones I try to keep a car charger in each of my cars and my work truck just to be safe as well as an extra wall charger for traveling.

so is this port proprietary? or is the plug used on other phones and devices and called by a particular name?
Im sure some places will have generic chargers for sale that DONT list HTC and would be nice to know what else to look for if needed.

also a few times today even with just default Apps I had a problem with the screen not waking up, which after searching seems to be a problem. was there any real fix? hopefully its a software thing that wont happen once rooted

and finally does anyone know where to find the car dock other than Ebay for $150? I mean i know they discontinued the phone but since when did discontinued phones and accessories appreciate in value? lol .

I want it mostly for quick charging via the dock pins as i have a cheap generic holder, to bad there is no audio out
is the car dock even that much better than a generic dock?


Thanks for any help!

 

[Samurai Drac]

The Nexus One uses a Micro USB; this is becoming the new standard charger for cellular phones and other small devices. It is a tad smaller than Mini USB, which is what it sounds like your old phones use.

Again, in terms of size:

USB > Mini USB > Micro USB

 

[Spoo76]

Yea I guess I didnt notice it was a micro. the only device i have that uses a micro is my newest digi cam.
at least knowing micro is becoming the new standard i can feel better about buying a handful of new car and wall chargers lol

 

[soloxp]

All you have to do buy Micro USB to Mini USB adapters. They are about $1 on ebay. Get one for all your cables snd you are set.

 

[pwig]

The problem with charging via USB is the phone only pulls half the power as it would if you used a wall charger or car charger (the car dock is pretty worth it).

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

 

[khaytsus]

All you have to do buy Micro USB to Mini USB adapters. They are about $1 on ebay. Get one for all your cables snd you are set.

Full stop. I would not use those things except perhaps converting on a desk where the phone is sitting still and not being used. They're quite long, >1", and would very easily provide a lot of strain on the port if there was lateral movement.

Certainly would not use one charging in the car etc..

The problem with charging via USB is the phone only pulls half the power as it would if you used a wall charger or car charger (the car dock is pretty worth it).

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

Yes, charging via USB has always been a slower charge, as USB2 provides only 500mAh of current. Some phones ignore this and will draw as much power as the charging system requires, feel free to google for people who've had devices blow their USB ports because of this.

For AC chargers, I already had 3 AC-to-USB port chargers, and all three of them charge fast, ie: data pins shorted, 1A chargers. So if you have any of these laying around they'll likely work, just look at their specs.

For the car I now I have two Motorola P513 car chargers, one for myself, one for the wife, and they work great. Only complaint I have is the plug portion is rather long. They're $10ish shipped from Amazon.

 

[Spoo76]

Yes I saw the adapters last night on ebay they are 99 cents with free shipping and don't have data pins so will fast charge. They are short wire adapters so they wouldn't be any more strain than a normal cord. As far as charging via actual USB I never do that unless I have to. An Xbox,ps3 or cable box is even better than a PC with a data cable.
I can't wait to root and get cyanogen on here. I Loved it on my g1

Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

 

[petard]

Full stop. I would not use those things except perhaps converting on a desk where the phone is sitting still and not being used. They're quite long, >1", and would very easily provide a lot of strain on the port if there was lateral movement.

Certainly would not use one charging in the car etc..



Yes, charging via USB has always been a slower charge, as USB2 provides only 500mAh of current. Some phones ignore this and will draw as much power as the charging system requires, feel free to google for people who've had devices blow their USB ports because of this.

For AC chargers, I already had 3 AC-to-USB port chargers, and all three of them charge fast, ie: data pins shorted, 1A chargers. So if you have any of these laying around they'll likely work, just look at their specs.

For the car I now I have two Motorola P513 car chargers, one for myself, one for the wife, and they work great. Only complaint I have is the plug portion is rather long. They're $10ish shipped from Amazon.

Ah, shorting the data pins is what tells the Nexus to draw the full current? I have 2 car power plug to USB port adapters rated at 1000mA just like the AC adapter the N1 came with. Both of them appear as USB instead of AC on the Nexus One and it will still lose battery charge while plugged in and navigating, although much more slowly.

If I were to splice into one of my USB cables and short the data pins (and disconnect them from the PC end so that the cable may not be inadvertently used) would the Nexus One read this as an AC plug and draw the full current?

 

[mr_raider]

Yeah I got a nasty surprise too since I have three mini USB adapters lying around the house from various HTC phones over the eyars.

I found this to be the cheapest solution:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.41527

If you want USB chraging, get a gigabyte board

http://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/185/on-off-charge.htm

 

[khaytsus]

kk.. You all go with the $.99 chargers, have fun.

 

[soloxp]

kk.. You all go with the $.99 chargers, have fun.

I will go with it. Never had a problem with it. I have a carpc in my car and I use the USB to my car dock and my phone is a lot cooler when using GPS then using the car charger.

Had my G1 for almost 2yrs and it never seen a house or car charger.

 

[Spoo76]

kk.. You all go with the $.99 chargers, have fun.

as helpful and informative as that post was keep in mind no one is talking about 99 cent chargers
Its simply a cable adapter from Mini USB to Micro USB with no data pins. it is an official Motorola charging cable.
and its also only 99 cents with free shipping if you chose the literal slow boat from china shipping option. i checked a few auctions and the standard shipping is $15
I decided to go with a seller in NY that has them for $3.44 each with free standard shipping.
these are also Motorola.
so $10.32 shipped from the US for 3 Motorola charging adapter cables isn't bad IMO. it also keeps my junk drawer of mini usb chargers in use lol
also the fact they are cables and not hard plastic adapters should keep the strain off the port, this should be no different than any charging cable

 

[soloxp]

That's the same ones I have.

 

[meoshe]

Those motorola adapters can also be bought at fry's electronics for 4.99, I just bought 2 since I didn't feel like buying new car chargers.

 

[khaytsus]

as helpful and informative as that post was keep in mind no one is talking about 99 cent chargers
Its simply a cable adapter from Mini USB to Micro USB with no data pins. it is an official Motorola charging cable.

Those motorola adapters can also be bought at fry's electronics for 4.99, I just bought 2 since I didn't feel like buying new car chargers.

Cool, good information then. I've mainly seen the one-piece longish adaptors. I'm sorted on chargers now, instead of converting the cable I just bought 3 MicroUSB's off NewEgg for $3/pc or so to go with my AC->USB chargers.. One at work, one in my computer room, stock charger in the bedroom (overnight charge).. Have a few extra cables now that I also retired my old car USB output charger for the Motorola charger.