Non-Verizon brand car charger...

[cableguy]

Hey Everyone...

I just ordered a $2.99 car charger for my Droid from some cell website. Simple DC to mini-USB connection. When you compare $3 to Verizon's $30, it was an easy decision to make, but now I am wondering... is there any risk of this cheaper charger damaging the battery/electrical system of my Droid? I was assuming that it would basically be an extremely similar piece of hardware, just not branded with Verizon's official stamp. The website that I purchased it from labeled it as a "Droid Car Charger". I THINK it should be safe.

Any thoughts?

~Cableguy

 

[cereal killer]

no you will be fine...I have some unkown brand car charger that I got from target a while back and it works fine. no issues

 

[Bucknell2013]

In the past, I have done the same thing as you. I usually have gone on ebay instead of paying some ridiculous rate in the store. Judging from my personal experiences, I have never had an issue with off-brand chargers. My droid is on the way, and I will be ordering a car charger online somewhere--unless something radical comes up that is alarming..
I hope that helps!

 

[Droider]

The Droid uses micro-USB so if you ordered mini-USB it probably won't fit.

Also I have noticed that the Droid requires a higher amperage than most USB charging devices. The included AC adapter puts out 5.1V at 850mA.

 

[qoncept]

It'll charge with a lower amperage, just not as fast. USB is rated at 500mA. I haven't used a wall charger more than a couple times since I got my Blackberry Curve. I plug it in to USB at work and occasionally on the weekends. It charges slower but it works fine.

 

[the3dolla]

i was wondering about that..

You can get a Motorola home charger for like $2.50 shipped. It is however a 500mA charger, thus slower charge. I noticed the mA on the droid charger is crazy high at 850mA, which must be why it charges so fast! I put it onto my laptop with a micro usb cable and it seemed to take forever to charge.

I plan on getting a car charger that puts out 700mA, so you think that will be fine? I couldn't find anywhere where it states how much mA the verizon ones put out. Anyone know?

 

[Danthok]

I went to Ross (here in Houston) which is a kind of over-stock discounted resale place. I bought a BlackBerry Pearl car charger for $5 and it works great.

It is rated at 250mA so it is not a fast charger, but it does the job. Charged about 30% in my 20 minute car ride home.

 

[PetrolHead]

I bought a cheap car charger from Target for my last RAZR. Before I started using the charger, my battery would last days on a charge. After a month of using the car charger, the battery wouldn't hold a charge for longer than a day. Not pleasing.

Now, I need to get a car charger for my Droid, and I'm nervous about buying a cheap no-name car charger. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

[delaen]

I bought a third party charger. Charges great, but when it's plugged in the touch screen becomes very inaccurate and the menu/home buttons don't work well. It's the strangest thing.

 

[otaku]

I thought USB ports on your computer push out 1A, more than 500mA?