Develop Bugs

[Q] USB's and aftermarket chargers...

I want to get a few extra USB's and an extra chargers... Can someone link me to something that wont mess up my phone/has the right output?

The K-Zoo Kid said:
I want to get a few extra USB's and an extra chargers... Can someone link me to something that wont mess up my phone/has the right output?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought two of these to use with my existing usb cables and wall chargers. It works great for both charging and file transfering.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-RAZR2-Original-Micro-Adapter/dp/B001E5FN20/ref=pd_cp_cps_2

The K-Zoo Kid said:
I want to get a few extra USB's and an extra chargers... Can someone link me to something that wont mess up my phone/has the right output?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is no "right" output
most usb ports will charge up to 500mA
the stock usb wall charger is, i think 750mA, i havent looked at it in awhile since its behind my desk, but i know its not 1A
the oem nexus one wall charger (non usb) will charge up to 1A
I would only recommend a 1A charger because there's no point to use a lower amperage, it just takes that much longer to charge your phone.

Couple of good threads on this topic, both on the vibrant and the i9000 acessories thread. Lots of good info. The deal extreme chargers look promising. Waiting to hear from a person who bought a 2amp charger if the extra 1a is used by the phone especially when using gps.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

sfsilicon said:
Couple of good threads on this topic, both on the vibrant and the i9000 acessories thread. Lots of good info. The deal extreme chargers look promising. Waiting to hear from a person who bought a 2amp charger if the extra 1a is used by the phone especially when using gps.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, my phone will still charge (slowly) while watching avatar, which i would assume is a pretty high load on the cpu, using the 1amp charger i got from dealextreme.
fwiw, the one i have is a 1A "HTC" wall charger thats square and lights up HTC when charging, it ****s up my screen sensitivity so i wouldnt recommend it, but it was only like four dollars so i'll live with it.
link:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.41025

AC charger or car charger?

The charger does not dictate the amount of current given to the phone. The phone will only draw what it wants to. The charger can limit the maximum current but if the phone only asks for 700mA, a 2A charger will only provide the 700mA demanded by the phone.
I don't know what the max current our phones will use but having a larger charger will only help if the phone requests the larger current.
Typos and other gibberish courtesy of Swype

ive been using these:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10311&cs_id=1031106&p_id=6767&seq=1&format=2
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10303#1030307

This is a pointless post and you know it...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

turbosix said:
well, my phone will still charge (slowly) while watching avatar, which i would assume is a pretty high load on the cpu, using the 1amp charger i got from dealextreme.
fwiw, the one i have is a 1A "HTC" wall charger thats square and lights up HTC when charging, it ****s up my screen sensitivity so i wouldnt recommend it, but it was only like four dollars so i'll live with it.
link:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.41025
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Click to collapse
I'm not sure how stressful watching Avatar is from a current draw perspective. The torture test is to turn on 3G, Bluetooth, synch, GPS and run the Navigation app while driving. Some post indicate that only a true 2A charger will be able to do this w/o discharging the battery. 1A ones can only limit the discharge. Cheap ones empty quickly.
Could you check what your charge current file value is for your 1A DE charger? Make sure to use the original Samsung cable and cross check with the original Samsung charger and a USB port.
1) Use an application like ES File Manager or Astro Filemanager
2) /sys/class/power_supply/battery/batt_chg_current
Here are the 2 threads that I've found have a lot of charger info.
Vibrant: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=749746
Galaxy S: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7933978

well, i'll come back and update with samsung usb numbers as i wont have access to it for awhile.
i checked the file when using the HTC cable plugged into my work dell and it said 850-860 after checking a a dozen times
plugged into the wall charger now and its around 700-750
is that supposed to be reporting in mA?

turbosix said:
well, i'll come back and update with samsung usb numbers as i wont have access to it for awhile.
i checked the file when using the HTC cable plugged into my work dell and it said 850-860 after checking a a dozen times
plugged into the wall charger now and its around 700-750
is that supposed to be reporting in mA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I haven't heard that anyone has measured it. The numbers you are getting are consistent with what others have see. 800-900 for USB. The original Samsung 700mA charger is getting 900-1100.
If you have another Android phone try that one as well to see the differences (e.g. G1 ~300-400).

sfsilicon said:
Yes, but I haven't heard that anyone has measured it. The numbers you are getting are consistent with what others have see. 800-900 for USB. The original Samsung 700mA charger is getting 900-1100.
If you have another Android phone try that one as well to see the differences (e.g. G1 ~300-400).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fwiw, gf's oem nexus one wall charger (non usb)
1100-1200mA

I just bought this dual usb charger so I could charge my Vibrant and my wifes blackberry. It's 2Amp (1A per port) and works great, if a little pricey, but worth it imo. I shouldn't need to buy another charger for a long time.
Griffin PowerBlock Dual Universal Charger for MP3 Players and USB Devices
(can't post links yet, google it)
Sent from the future on my Samsung Vibrant

High current car charger

Anybody come across a car charger that is high current like the HTC wall charger?

Most car chargers are classified as "rapid".

Anything designed to charge an iPad (2.1A versus the typical 1A) will give you plenty of juice. I use the Scosche reVIVE II with Pandora, Bluetooth, and GPS Navigation all on and still have enough power to positively charge my battery.
Fair warning, though, this will cause the phone to get real hot (I've had the overheating warning lights flash twice so far), so make sure you have plenty of ventilation around the phone, keep it out of the sun, etc etc.

Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.

Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
Genuine Motorola charger in retail packaging. 4.75-5.25V 950mA output, works w/ most micro-USB phones like Incredible, etc., June 11, 2010
By
David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
There are so many sketchy sellers selling phone chargers out there, that it can be a bit scary. The problem is that if the charger is poorly made, the output of the charger can be out of spec and can, in some cases, fry the phone you connect to it.
For that reason, when it comes to phone chargers, you should stick to name brands. (They are all made in China, but the name brand ones are usually subject to stricter QA).
When I found this charger on Amazon, SOLD BY AMAZON, I jumped on it. It's a MICRO USB car charger, made for Motorola and sold under the Motorola name, in retail packaging. The rated output is 4.75-5.25V and 950mA.
This charger should work fine with most any phone that uses the MICRO USB connector. The key number to pay attention to is the second one, the rated amperage. This is the MAXIMUM amount of current that the phone can request from the charger. A typical USB port on a PC provides as little as 100mA, and few provide more than 500mA. So this charger should charge your phone faster than when it's connected to a PC. A few phones out now can use up to 1000mA. But that just means they CAN use that amount. If 950mA is provided, they'll still charge, just a bit more slowly.
Note that the amperage (second number) merely tells you how much the charger CAN supply, if requested. The phone itself is responsible for asking for the current. That is to say, if this charger can provide 950mA, but your phone can only use 300mA--no problem. Your phone asks for 300mA and the charger provides all of what is requested. If, on the other hand, your phone can use 1000mA, this charger will provide all it can, which is 950mA--a wee bit less than the max asked for. That's also not a problem; it just means your phone will charge a little bit (not much in this case) more slowly. The rated voltage for this charger is presented in a range of 4.75-5.25V. The "ideal" voltage for a USB charger of any type if 5V. And most chargers for home use are rated right at 5V. But car chargers work in a noisier environment and thus you have the range. This is where a cheapo charger can really do damage, as some of them are poorly regulated and can provide voltages that are WAY out of spec. Again, when you can get a name brand charger from a seller you can trust (Amazon) for such a reasonable price, it's very foolish to consider the cheapo no-names.
This is an excellent quality name brand travel micro USB charger at a price that beats the no-name junk from third party sellers. What's not to like?
BE SURE TO ORDER IT FROM AMAZON AND NOT ONE OF THE THIRD PARTY SELLERS, as some of those have been known to make mistakes with respect to what they ship relative to the listing. I can confirm that Amazon is shipping the P513 /89143N charger, as pictured.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ddgarcia05 said:
Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
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Click to collapse
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read in the past here on XDA and on the reviews for the charger (on amazon) you shouldn't have a problem. The second review for the charger on amazon states that the reviewer was looking for a charger which actually charged his phone will using GPS and that he found it. It's a very well built charger and cheap. It's made my Motorola and sold by Amazon so buy with confidence.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does indeed charge. I've had it since my original Droid and was concerned when I updated to the TB but it will charge the TB no matter what you're doing (I've had Nav running while on a phone call with BT and searching the internet and it still showed it was charging). Just be prepared for your phone to get HOT!! Great charger.

worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that Motorola charger and am a heavy GPS user. It charges the battery as if it were plugged into the wall. You'll be very satisfied.

mike.s said:
Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that was measured at the 5 volt power supply, based upon a lab power supply. I did a lot of experimenting when I developed the charger and phone mount for my motorcycle. And to get the 850ma from the power supply, I used a very short, maybe 8 inch, USB cable, and a charge voltage close to 5.3 volts. With 5 volts at the power supply, it would only pull about 650ma from the power supply. That was due to the voltage drop in the USB cable. With the 5.3 volts at the power supply, I was getting close to an actual 5 volts at the Thunderbolt. I never measured the current at the battery, but I could see it being a bit more then the 850ma in, if there were a switch mode supply in there.
Though I like the Battery Monitor widget as a rough guide, I never tested to see if the battery current and the battery monitor are accurate.

Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?

happimeal said:
Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?
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Click to collapse
Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.

worwig said:
Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.
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Click to collapse
HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.

You can use the Palm car charger for $3.75+tax, free shipping. it is 5V/1A, same rating as the HTC wall charger.
Go here for 25% off
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...otion/accessories.jsp?source=EC0A0011600jtl10
Add product here, must add to cart to see 25% discount.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...027&q_sku=sku4720234&q_manufacturer=&q_model=
Also, if so inclined, you can lop the top off of the charger so that you can use any usb cable (ipod, iphone, anything)

dpham00 said:
HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.
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Click to collapse
That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.

worwig said:
That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have used the Palm car charger, checking with bmw, it shows around 850ma, same as on my htc charger.

worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.

leoingle said:
unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
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Click to collapse
Bingo!!

leoingle said:
um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is hard to find the current info online or even on the package sometimes.
Yes, it is shorted in the charger. I have seen it done in the cable and the cable can't be used for data of course. Not sure why anyone would do that, but they do.

Charger Concerns

I see that the wall charger for the Galaxy Nexus outputs 5V and 1A. Unfortunately, none of the extra chargers I'd like to use as additional chargers have this output. Some of them are 5.1V, and some of them all put out under 1A.
From what I understand, using a charger w/ a higher voltage could potentially damage the phone. I know that this unlikely considering it's only an extra .1V in my case, but I don't want to risk it.
As for the amps, I believe that using lower amps isn't dangerous, but may result in charging taking longer than normal.
Are these two assumptions correct? Also, does anyone know of any cheap chargers that put out 5V/1A? If you put in "phone charger" in Amazon, the second hit is a Samsung OEM charger that puts out 5V/0.7A, but I'd rather get one that is going to be an exact match.

700-800mah are fine and acceptable for charging. But if wanting to play games on a charger and still get some kind of charge, go with a 1000 mah charger. 1000 mah charger is also best to use while using mhl so you can hopefully not lose battery charge while streaming video over hdmi.
Sent from my samsung gt i9250 which is in the wrong country.

Speaking of the charger... anyone found a cheap charger adapter for the Nexus? I don't like the massive brick of a "international adapter" Handtec packaged with the phone >.>

Dmw017 said:
Speaking of the charger... anyone found a cheap charger adapter for the Nexus? I don't like the massive brick of a "international adapter" Handtec packaged with the phone >.>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Micro-Travel-Charger-M540/dp/B002HJBM04
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Travel-Charger-Adapter-MicroUSB/dp/B0049IE70I

Dmw017 said:
Speaking of the charger... anyone found a cheap charger adapter for the Nexus? I don't like the massive brick of a "international adapter" Handtec packaged with the phone >.>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using a Griffin charger for the iPhone (1 amp)... it's very small and the plug blades fold up, making it very pocketable. Give the included iPhone cable to a friend.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-NA231...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322795627&sr=1-33

alee said:
I'm using a Griffin charger for the iPhone (1 amp)... it's very small and the plug blades fold up, making it very pocketable. Give the included iPhone cable to a friend.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-NA231...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322795627&sr=1-33
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's.. 24 bucks ... for a charger..
lol fml

Dmw017 said:
it's.. 24 bucks ... for a charger..
lol fml
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, it's a nice charger.
If you don't get that one, do get a charger that does at least 700mA... or ideally 1A. Some of the cheaper chargers don't put out a lot of power and it will take a long time to charge your phone.

alee said:
Haha, it's a nice charger.
If you don't get that one, do get a charger that does at least 700mA... or ideally 1A. Some of the cheaper chargers don't put out a lot of power and it will take a long time to charge your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...you say it folds too huh :/ ....
but for that price, i wonder if there are any samsung chargers that are just as good if not better..
that is Apple, after all
hey isnt http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Techn...al-USB-Charging/dp/B004EYH5WY/ref=pd_sim_e_10 the same product , it says it does 5 volts at 5 watts ... thats the same right?
edit: some people are reporting that the charger only charges at 0.5A instead of the full 1A on [some] android devices. if you have the charger, can you confirm your nexus charges at the full 1A watts

I've been doing fine with just plugging it into my computer like I always do with every other phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Dmw017 said:
hey isnt http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Techn...al-USB-Charging/dp/B004EYH5WY/ref=pd_sim_e_10 the same product , it says it does 5 volts at 5 watts ... thats the same right?
edit: some people are reporting that the charger only charges at 0.5A instead of the full 1A on [some] android devices. if you have the charger, can you confirm your nexus charges at the full 1A watts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same one.
Good question on whether it's putting out a full 1A. I guess what I do is check the charge times tomorrow with a few different 1A chargers to see if it measures up.

I use this for home:
http://www.amazon.com/Cellet-Charger-Retractable-Cable-myTouch/dp/B004XVM1T0
And this for the car:
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Powerjolt-Dual-Universal-Micro/dp/B0042B9U8Q
Both are dual-USB and put out 1amp. Charges my GNEX and iPhone 4 (work) at the same time without issues.

Just feel like to chime in here for another question.
I know typical USB port from a PC outputs 0.5A while the wall charger outputs 1A, so besides charging time, is there any particular advantages to use wall charger over USB from PC?
I've read somewhere else states that despite the longer charging time using a USB port from a PC, it provides more thorough charges hence is better for the battery than using a wall charger, is this true?
Thanks!

assisterah said:
Just feel like to chime in here for another question.
I know typical USB port from a PC outputs 0.5A while the wall charger outputs 1A, so besides charging time, is there any particular advantages to use wall charger over USB from PC?
I've read somewhere else states that despite the longer charging time using a USB port from a PC, it provides more thorough charges hence is better for the battery than using a wall charger, is this true?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read that the wall charger drops the battery down to 90ish % after it hits 100% and just goes between the two levels until you unplug your charger
While a USB charge is slower and charges your device up to a "fuller" charge
...I may be unfathomably wrong though
---------- Post added at 10:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------
man that little Apple charger is so damn cute ... lol , ill probably end up buying it once the 1A volt charge is confirmed
edit: just bought it lol, oh well.. it will probably maybe more or less somewhat possibly work like it should at 1A :}

assisterah said:
Just feel like to chime in here for another question.
I know typical USB port from a PC outputs 0.5A while the wall charger outputs 1A, so besides charging time, is there any particular advantages to use wall charger over USB from PC?
I've read somewhere else states that despite the longer charging time using a USB port from a PC, it provides more thorough charges hence is better for the battery than using a wall charger, is this true?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not an expert on the subject but I was under the impression that cycles (charge + discharge) were a bigger factor on battery life than something like this. The longer a current is running through the battery (charge or discharge) is detrimental to it's life span.
Leaving a laptop plugged in all the time ruins its battery is my source on this one. I would say it's because it has a constant charge running through the battery.

qreffie said:
I've been doing fine with just plugging it into my computer like I always do with every other phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That takes a lot longer vs plugging it into the wall

rashad1 said:
That takes a lot longer vs plugging it into the wall
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Click to collapse
True dat. Unless it has changed , USB only outputs 500mA.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[hfm] said:
True dat. Unless it has changed , USB only outputs 500mA.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
500mA is the max before the PC will disable the port. So your actually get less current.
There are some ports, depending on the motherboard that have a option of outputting more power for charging devices, and also have the port powered when the computer is off. But a normal usb 2.0 port is limited to 500mA max per spec... so a normal usb 2.0 port charging a phone is drawing less then 500mA, or it would get and over current condition and disable the port.

I design electronics and work with USB and batteries often, so let me clear some stuff up in no particular order:
- PC ports are limited to 500mA so will only ever output a max of 500mA
- You can use a wall charger that outputs 1000mA but on most devices the data pins on the micro USB need to be shorted to tell the phone it can try to draw more than 500mA. This is true for HTC devices for example. That means if you get a cheap charger that doesn't short the data pins, when you plug your standard micro-usb cable into it, it will still only charge your phone at 500mA.
- The charging controller is actually in the phone. It decides based on temperature (there's a sensor in the battery), current, voltage across the battery (current charge) and characteristics of the type of battery to figure out how much current to allow into the battery. Although its true that a 500mA charger may have different affects than 1000mA chargers, there usually is very little perceivable difference. Which is (slightly) better really depends on the charging controller and how it decides when to stop charging.
- When the battery is full, the phone continues to 'trickle charge' for a period of time. This isn't a bad thing. Overcharging a Lithium battery can be extremely dangerous, so normal charging occurs at a high speed and then slows down at a safe limit below the 'true' 100%. After that the phone continues to trickle charge to top up the battery. This is the reason you read in phone manuals you should charge the phone for 8 hours or overnight for its first charge.
- When charging at 500mA, the battery does not get as hot. This usually means you get closer to the true 100% before 'trickle charging' starts. With a 1000mA charge the battery heats up a lot more so charging may switch to trickle much sooner. Here's an example with made up figures.
Lets say you charge your battery with a 500mA charger, and it takes 2 hours. When the phone shows 100% it may actually be at 99%, and trickle charging. Leaving it for another 30 mins may take it to its full capacity.
Now, lets say you charge your battery with a 1000mA charger, and it takes 1 hour. When the phone shows 100% it may actually be at 98%, and trickle charging - It stopped sooner because the battery was hotter. Leaving it for another 30 mins may take it to full capacity.
Conclusion.. the 500mA charger took 2.5 hours, while the 1000mA charger took 1.5 hours. However if you unplugged both when the phone showed 100%, the 500mA charged battery may last longer, and so you think the 500mA somehow resulted in a more thorough charge!
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter which you use. the absolute charge cycles is what counts. Charge to 100%, then dont charge till its 0 for best battery care. Constantly plugging into a charger or dock all day on and off is bad. But having said that, your phone is there to be used, so a sensible balance of the two is the best bet.

Thank you so much for the detailed response, kam187. Would you recommend avoiding using a 5.1V charger, considering the phone came with a 5V charger?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I wouldn't use it. The 0.1v probably won't make any difference, but it may not be regulated. Chargers with these odd values sometimes don't have any regulator inside them. That could damage your phone as the voltage could shoot up and down as the current draw changes.
Just search amazon/ebay for any MicroUSB charger, and pick one from a reputable manufacturer like Motorola, HTC, Samsung etc. Since all phones now use MicroUSB, there's loads of these chargers around from previous phone models etc.
Here's just one I saw on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Trave...E70I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1322808220&sr=8-3

GRIFFIN Dual USB Car Charger issue

Hello everybody,
I have recently bought the Griffin Dual USB car charger.
I use quite often a GPS navigator when I am driving, so I wanted to buy a car charger which was powerful enough to sustain gps and 3g data plus a little extra juice to charge my phone battery. I found this charger on the internet and the specifications say it's got an output of 1A which should be more than enough for my needs. However, I was quite surprised when I realised that the battery still goes down really slowly when I use the gps app.
I've had a look online and apparently most car chargers are not recognised by your phone as a proper charger. For this reason, they provide only 500mA. You can double check this by having a look at 'settings > about device > Status > Battery status'. If it says 'Charging (USB)', it provides 500mA. Instead, if it says 'Charging (AC)', it provides more (so called fast charging). Well, my phone says Charging (AC). But it's still not enough apparently
Do you guys know any app or anything I can do to test how much the charger is actually providing?
As you can imagine, this is quite annoying.
Thanks

i'm in the same boat as you but a different dual USB Charger
It's suppose to output 2.1A + 1A or something along those lines and it does charge last generation iPad and an iPad Mini at the same time without an issue.
When I plug a Galaxy Nexus in it charges as a USB BUT when I plug the Galaxy S3 it charges as AC but a 2 hour trip only got my phone battery up to 47% which is way way too slow and that is without GPS
The AC charger that came with my phone only outputs 1A but it charges my phone in 2.5 hours from dead flat to full

My car charger is the same. 2.1A port for tablets and stuff. 1A port for everything else. I have noticed that if I plug my s3 in the 2.1A port, it charges slightly faster. However, it's not even close to my 1A wall charger.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Any idea at all?
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzoMhKFiOB0
I don't know if this will help. have a look at the comments as well.

Dual Usb Car Charger
Valdagor said:
Hello everybody,
I have recently bought the Griffin Dual USB car charger.
I use quite often a GPS navigator when I am driving, so I wanted to buy a car charger which was powerful enough to sustain gps and 3g data plus a little extra juice to charge my phone battery. I found this charger on the internet and the specifications say it's got an output of 1A which should be more than enough for my needs. However, I was quite surprised when I realised that the battery still goes down really slowly when I use the gps app.
I've had a look online and apparently most car chargers are not recognised by your phone as a proper charger. For this reason, they provide only 500mA. You can double check this by having a look at 'settings > about device > Status > Battery status'. If it says 'Charging (USB)', it provides 500mA. Instead, if it says 'Charging (AC)', it provides more (so called fast charging). Well, my phone says Charging (AC). But it's still not enough apparently
Do you guys know any app or anything I can do to test how much the charger is actually providing?
As you can imagine, this is quite annoying.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, if you are looking for a best usb car charger for your device then i have a option for you. Please check my profile and fo to the link in my bio.. Thank you

I recall back with my old phone (Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V), the lead devs teamed up and made a flashable patch that allowed you to toggle fast charging on and off, basically telling the phone whether it should consider the power source a USB or Wall charger and it worked good. Maybe we can get some people to team up and build that for the S3?

[Solved] Car charger suggestions

Until now, I be been using whatever cheap 1A car chargers I found on eBay. They show up as AC on the phone, and charge acceptably fast, definitely better than USB, but worse than the original AC charger.
With GPS usage (sygic, 3d acceleration, full backlight, GPS, speaker, and mild CPU usage) the battery actually drains while charging. Starting a 4 hour trip with 100% charge resulted in 40% of battery, even if it was charging on the whole duration of the trip.
So, this summer I'm going to do some bigger road trips. I need a car charger that gives enough power to charge while doing the GPS usage described above. I suppose I'm going to need a charger that gives close to actual 2A, not only in theory. Any suggestions?

kourampies said:
Until now, I be been using whatever cheap 1A car chargers I found on eBay. They show up as AC on the phone, and charge acceptably fast, definitely better than USB, but worse than the original AC charger.
With GPS usage (sygic, 3d acceleration, full backlight, GPS, speaker, and mild CPU usage) the battery actually drains while charging. Starting a 4 hour trip with 100% charge resulted in 40% of battery, even if it was charging on the whole duration of the trip.
So, this summer I'm going to do some bigger road trips. I need a car charger that gives enough power to charge while doing the GPS usage described above. I suppose I'm going to need a charger that gives close to actual 2A, not only in theory. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is due to the fact that your phone only requests 500mA from the car charger (while your phone uses more)
are you using a custom kernel?
I use ElementalX, which has the option to enable fastcharge, which boosts it to 900mA (enough to charge with everything on)

Zorkman said:
that is due to the fact that your phone only requests 500mA from the car charger (while your phone uses more)
are you using a custom kernel?
I use ElementalX, which has the option to enable fastcharge, which boosts it to 900mA (enough to charge with everything on)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any downside to enabling fast charge. No sure if there isn't why every kernel doesn't enable it by default.

fitz420 said:
Is there any downside to enabling fast charge. No sure if there isn't why every kernel doesn't enable it by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because in theory USB ports of e.g. laptops only give 500mA. I've used it on a lot of car chargers, USB hubs, desktops and laptops and never had any problem.
Even if something were to break, it will be your car charger, because your phone can handle a lot more than 900mA, and if your car charger is rated for 1A that will suffice.

Actually the N5 stock has Fast charging enabled. The problems usually are most commonly from poor USB cables and sometimes bad chargers that don't output what they say. If you are dropping battery charge that quickly from a 1A charger most likely you have a problem with one of the 2 I mentioned above. DL CurrentWidget from the play store. Set the Update Interval to 1 sec and then plug in the charger. IF it is a 1A charger you should get just under 1A maybe about 900mA or so. Since you are losing battery life while charging and using the above things you mentioned I would imagine that it is getting about 500mA or less.
Try the test with your OEM cable from the N5 since it is more likely to be better at handling the higher current charge rate. That way you can figure if it is the cable or the charger itself.
Here are ones that MmmmmBacon suggested in his Cheap Charger thread. I am probably going to grab one myself.
http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Dual...=1399909516&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+car+charger
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...=1399909109&sr=8-2&keywords=anker+car+charger

I use this and it's brilliant and actually charges the battery while using navigation -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=436834887&pf_rd_i=468294
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Ohgami_Ichiro said:
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...=1399909109&sr=8-2&keywords=anker+car+charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Highly recommend this. It can charge two N5s at full speed with no issue.

Sorry for the late reply... I didnt have time to even read the replies till now.
I never believed that a cable could make that much of a difference, but testing right now with the original LG AC charger and misc USB cables the difference is immence. Best performance I managed to get was from the included cable of my Anker powerbank. its around 980-1010mAh constantly, vs the 400-600 most cables do.
I will test in the car ASAP.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/301013129424
http://www.scosche.com/chargers/ipad-usb-car-charger-two-port
My combo for the most compact charging solution. Same speed as the stock charger.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Du...er+car+charger
That is one of the best car chargers I've found, I use to charge my Nexus 5 when I'm on the go.

This Anker charger solved it.
It gives a steady 1000mA that is enough to charge and use GPS.
I have to give a huge thumbs up to Anker, because together with the car charger i also bought the Astroslim 3 6000mAh powerbank, which charges two devices the same time, at a steady 1500mA each!!! I loved bothe the car charger and the powerbank, definitely worth their money.