iPhone 3G Car Charger

tonytone wrote:
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).

So, are you saying IF this charger is 1A, it could damage my IP? On the website I didn't see a spec sheet that said it was a 1A Jolt. Would my IP reject it if it provides too much juice?

Macaby wrote:

tonytone wrote:
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).

So, are you saying IF this charger is 1A, it could damage my IP? On the website I didn't see a spec sheet that said it was a 1A Jolt. Would my IP reject it if it provides too much juice?

Don't hold me liable for the following, but I would think that 1A won't damage it because the Apple AC USB adapter that comes with the iPhone 3G is also listed (printed on the adapter itself) as outputting 1A.

I'm going to give it a shot with my PowerJolt when it arrives. You're right about the standard AC charger from Apple stating that it puts out 1A @ 5 volts.

I also have an IT and I bought a knock-off AC charger that is of the 500mA variety. Works fine with my IT, but if I plug it into my IP, I get an error message stating the charger does NOT work with the IP.

Macaby wrote:
I'm going to give it a shot with my PowerJolt when it arrives. You're right about the standard AC charger from Apple stating that it puts out 1A @ 5 volts.

I also have an IT and I bought a knock-off AC charger that is of the 500mA variety. Works fine with my IT, but if I plug it into my IP, I get an error message stating the charger does NOT work with the IP.

I'm assuming you bought that AC charger so that you wouldn't need to share the Apple AC adapter between both IT and IP; I also assume you know why that knock-off charger doesn't work w/ your IP, so I'll save the explanation for sake of brevity. 🙂

Macaby wrote:
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.Below is my update to the above post. The site above is an "Overstockdealz" sit

The package does say its a Griffin PowerJolt charger. Someone earlier in this thread stated that this unit is last year's model. I don't know about that, but I can report that it seems to work fine and for the price, it's a bargain. I bought 2 of them and wish I had bought one more as the extra shipping charge per unit is not very much.

I have the same kit, and get the same results. It works fine and is a very handy device.

Useful but can you give a prt number or the Apple name of the product. I cannot find it on the UK store site

Regards

Charles

I've also had problems with the new 2008 model of the PowerJolt.

As previously mentioned, it obviously isn't providing enough current.

Not sure what to try next, maybe an older firewire charger with a conversion cable as the firewire stuff had more current?

like this (scroll half way down):

http://ourmaninside.com/2008/07/30/iphone-3g-in-car-charger/

Ian

As long as it puts out enough current to charge the iPhone 3G under a heavy load, it should (in theory) do the job.

Just to make things clear--the issue I've been pointing out has nothing to do with whether a charger is compatible with the iPhone 3G, but more with whether it can adequately charge the iPhone while the phone is heavily multitasking. If all your phone is doing is sitting idle and perhaps also actively paired to a BT device--and assuming you don't have Autolock disabled, since disabling it will keep the screen from dimming/turning off...any iPhone 3G-compatible charger (i.e., one that charges through the USB pins) will work, assuming it puts out at least 500mA of current.

As Tonytone points out, the IP has a hard time keeping up with the current charge, let alone putting some juice back while using the USB charger. My 500mA will NOT work at all with my IP, but does with my IT. The PowerJolt car charger that I just bought does put out 1A, but I'm not sure it would keep up with full time video.

I guess there is just too much processing going on with the IP with the power supply it contains (internal battery).

I have a usb charger I used for my first gen that works if I simply plug it in with my bluetooth running in my car. Charges the phone very well.
The battery runs out quickly but it also seems to charge very quickly as well. 😀

I bought an iPhone 3G car charger from this site, it has worked well for me. It charges just as well as the wall charger that came with my iPhone 3G.

http://www.inspiretech.com/p-345-iphone-3g-car-charger.aspx

Lots of chargers work to top off an iPhone, but few work to keep an iPhone charged up when under a heavy load.

I too have experienced an iPhone's charge going down, down, down EVEN when plugged into a car charger (500 mA or 1/2 an amp). Half an amp is enough to charge up an iPhone IF you aren't using GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi, 3G, iPod or a combination of several. BUT, if you are using these and/or your iPhone falls below 20% charge, it CAN NOT charge your phone up or keep it charged.

As several posts have indicated, you need 1 amp (1000 mA) to keep up with this heavy use. This is the charge that the Apple-supplied home charger provides.

After several losers, I FINALLY found an excellent solution that can keep my iPhone powered when running GPS on Google maps, actively searching for wifi, bluetooth on AND playing the iPod and in a 3G area (sometimes I was in Edge).

It can support a FULL TWO WATTS. The iPhone can only draw 1 amp, so no worries there. It is made for GPS systems, but comes with a standard USB port so works beautifully with the iPhone. I found out about it because somewhere I read that Scosche built one that worked. I couldn't find it on their site, so I called their tech support. A guy there told me what I typed above about the 500 mA stuff. He said the GPSCHRG model would work for me. I found it in Walmart with their GPS stuff. I used it on a 8-hour trip over the holidays and it rocked! It was about 25 clams.

check it here: http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/210/sfID2/337/productID/1641

Message was edited by: mmmmark