Question about Car Chargers

[guitarskoota]

Hey guys, I recently got my first smartphone, a Bionic, and I am loving it. I want to get a car charger for it, but I don't know what is safe. I notice that the motorola cable is just a USB chord that plugs into an outlet. I read that "USB Cables: The XT875 can only be used with Motorola USB cables."

So I am wondering if there is a certain "spec" that is required for a universal charger to work on the Bionic. I know back years ago, Verizon was shady and sold headphones that worked stereo in their phones, for like 30 bucks, and if you used other headphones, they would only be mono. I found out that this was because of the amount of rings on the jack, and I was able to find the right amount of rings on one on Amazon, for about 5 bucks, and it worked.

Is there any feature like this that I should look for in a car charger, for it to work on the Bionic? And is it safe? Any chargers anyone can recommend? I know I can get the verizon one for like $25 bucks, but I hate spending that much on something, I know I can get off Amazon for like $5 bucks shipped.

Or is it just the Motorola cable itself, that is required? I mean, I can take the cable with me and plug it into any computer and it charges fine. So maybe its just that the "cable" itself, is the required part. My wife has a universal phone car charger that is just a cigarette lighter plug, with a USB jack, that she plugs her phone cable into to charge, and it works for her old env3. If I plug my moto cable into this, should it work, and should it be safe? Or do I have to worry about frying my phone? I would just try it but I don't want to damage anything.

Thanks in advance people.

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

This is the one I've been using and it seems to work fine: Amazon.com: Motorola Vehicle Power Adapter micro-USB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Accessories

I would recommend staying with a Motorola branded charger.

Good luck.

 

[guitarskoota]

Not bad, from Amazon, and only $5 bucks. I think I will have to nab one up. Thanks!

 

[jayman350]

This is the one I've been using and it seems to work fine: Amazon.com: Motorola Vehicle Power Adapter micro-USB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Accessories

I would recommend staying with a Motorola branded charger.

Good luck.

I have that one as well. It works, but only as long as you aren't actually using your phone while it is charging. That charger cannot keep up with the Bionic's demand if the phone is using navigation. You will end up basically using the charger to keep the battery around the same level as when you started.

I use this one w/ a generic usb cable and have had very good luck w/ it, using the 2.1A slot will allow you to actually increase the charge level while using nav, playing music, etc, etc.

I think the usb cable is on a case-by-case basis. Some people can't use anything but the moto branded cable, others like myself have been able to use any micro usb cable they come across (I have like 5 of them spread out between my house, car, and work).

 

[Ajvdub]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042B9U8Q...e=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B0042B9U8Q

I use this, its got two outlets and you can use any USB cable you have. I can charge my iPad and phone at the same time or mine and a passenger's phone and it charges pretty fast.

 

[Tamcon]

Be careful that you check the output on the charger. Most don't put out enough. I would think you want one that puts out 750-1000 MA or more. Also keep in mind that the phone won't charge much if at all when using the navigation or 4G. If you get the Moto car dock you can also order a split cable that connects to your charger and your mini RCA input jack for your stereo.

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