iPhone 3G Car Charger

I have the same Belkin setup, which now doesn't play nice with the 3G. Any word on a 3G-friendly equivalent to the Auto Kit? i.e. a charger which also has a line-out; none of this FM transmitter business.

I bought a black car charger for 7.49 at www.huetronworld.com
They have a black and white car charger.
So far so good.
Killer price and free shipping.
Searched long and hard and finally someone has a charger that works.

Oh here is the link.
http://huetron.com/iphone3g-charger-battery.html
I bought the wrong charger first. (One for the old iPhone)
But these are compatible with the 3G.

Griffin Powerjolt works fine. I also have an older Griffin USB Car Adapter that works fine.

No messages, no problems. My understanding is any USB with a mA rating at or below 1000 should work fine. Both my Griffin products are 5V @500mA.

Chargers with mA ratings over 1000 may trigger the warnings. Just a guess.

I also run my GPS all day with the Powerjolt at times, and the battery stays charged.

Glideslope, I doubt that your guess is correct. The amperage rating of a power supply is a measure of how much power can be drawn by a connected device. It's not possible to have too much of it, unlike voltage, where too much leads to smoke and other unpleasant effects. The excess capacity simply goes unused.

Try having your iPhone 3G do all of the following while connected to the PowerJolt:

1) Google Maps running in foreground (i.e., GPS on);
2) iPhone playing music (either through speaker or via AUX/headphone out), with volume set to >50%;
3) Brightness fixed at 50% or higher;
4) 3G on;
5) Autolock disabled (unless you don't mind the screen dimming after whatever time you set Autolock to);
6) Bluetooth on and actively paired to a BT device (e.g., BT headset, in-vehicle BT);

Autolock should ideally be disabled since it's kinda hard to view the map if the screen is dimmed...even harder to view if screen is dimmed and you're driving during daylight.

Anyways, if you drive around long enough (at least 30 minutes--even longer would be better) under the conditions stated above, you should find that your iPhone's battery level will have dropped--IOW, the PowerJolt can't keep up with the iPhone's power consumption. I know this because I ran this exact test, and FWIW I'm not the only one who's experienced this. Some folks may counter that my test environment would be considered out of the ordinary, but I beg to differ--who wouldn't have their iPhone connected to their car stereo, with Google Maps running so they can view their current location...while having BT enabled so that they are in compliance with any cell phone hands-free laws? And the screen should remain on (rather than dim or turn off)--otherwise, what's the point of having navigation software (if/when it is released) if you have to tap the screen to wake it up every so often because you can't easily make out what's on the display?

Note--my test conditions don't even include the fact that I have Push turned off and Fetch set to Manual; obviously, having Push on and Fetch set to automatically retrieve every so often will only add to the power load.

I've noticed something as of late, and I think the combination of one of my power adapters and an iPhone software update (2.0.1?) may have resolved the the problem I was having.

I'm using a 12v to USB power adapter from "Hummingbird", outputs 1Amp and costs $10 from Fry's Electronics (Burbank, CA). Altho I can't find it on their website nor can I find it on google.

Testing using Google Maps with "Locate Me" (tracking me) clicked on and updating, 3G on and full brightness on with music playing and an occasional phone call via bluetooth.

I haven't changed anything in my setup after buying the Hummingbird adapter (that, at first, didn't solve my problem), other than the 2.0.1 update.

Here we go, I found the website and after verifying it was the same one I use on my bikes, this is the one that seems to be working for me altho they list it for $15, as opposed to $10 at Fry's. :
http://www.hummingbird.cc/displaydetail.php?prdid=39

I'd imagine any usb adapter outputting 1Amp (with a single USB port and not two) and the 2.0.1 update or greater may solve the problem with others too.

Hope this solves the problem for others too!

-Sergio

Sergio Najera wrote:
Here we go, I found the website and after verifying it was the same one I use on my bikes, this is the one that seems to be working for me altho they list it for $15, as opposed to $10 at Fry's. :
http://www.hummingbird.cc/displaydetail.php?prdid=39

I'd imagine any usb adapter outputting 1Amp (with a single USB port and not two) and the 2.0.1 update or greater may solve the problem with others too.

Hope this solves the problem for others too!

-Sergio

Sergio, did it come with a spec sheet indicating 1 AMP? (I do not see any indication on this website.)

I have the PowerJolt, it says it nowhere on the website or on the packaging, but when you open it up there is an insert stating 500 mA

It's on a sticker on the underside of the adapter, here:
http://flickr.com/photos/sognix/2783309024/

🙂

Just make sure it's the single USB port version - they also have a dual USB version which I also have and that one didn't provide enough juice. And yeah, I too got a PowerJolt trying to solve this - I hope I'm not now stuck with it.

I bought the Griffin for my old iphone and it still charges my 3G. However, I noticed the phone getting somewhat warm while charging so I was wondering if I should find something else. I don't remember it doing that with my old phone.

I'm a mechanical engineer with a history of causing electronic devices to burst into flames so I'm a little jumpy about these things, lol.

Message was edited by: tigertex

I just ordered 2 of these for $2.99 a piece plus shipping.

[Car charger|http://www.overstockdealz.com/products.asp?id=9769PJLTBATT&referer=srch ]

Its supposed to be a Griffen PowerJolt. Will update here after I test it.

Macaby--based on the product number and picture, that one appears to be last year's model (no longer carried on Griffin's site, obviously) which, according to the specs outputs 1A, vs. 500mA for the PowerJolt SE and PowerJolt for iPhone (2008 version).

Hmmm, that's interesting--not that I don't believe you, but someone else (on a different forum) observed that his 1-amp car charger could not keep up with the iPhone 3G under heavy power load conditions. Another person even used a combination of a power inverter and the Apple USB AC adapter (output listed as being 1 amp) and still found that it couldn't adequately charge the iPhone under heavy usage either. Do you remember how long you allowed the iPhone to run/charge using that charger while under the conditions you described?

In any case, here's something interesting--last year's PowerJolt was rated at 1A output; then the PowerJolt SE was released (also in 2007)--its output is rated at 500mA. Fast-forward to 2008, with the current version of the PowerJolt (similar to the SE, but with the detachable cable--it is the one that is sold on Apple's online store)--it too, is rated at 500mA. So...the obvious question that can be asked from all of this is, why did Griffin drop the current output on the PowerJolt from 1A to 500mA?

Message was edited by: tonytone

Aha! I picked one of them up for a fiver the other week - was going to list it on feePay as I thought it wouldn't work with my 3G. The box hasn't been opened before. But it will be now!

Cheers

Ian