If you’re one of the incredibly small camp of people who use the phenomenally unpopular “I-Phone” or whatever, you might find this useful. The Micro Auto Charger fits right in your cigarette lighter’s slot and sits flush with your dash, exposing only a USB port. Good news for people with iPods who don’t want something protruding from the dash, but bad news for everyone without iPods, since they’ll have to get the much larger Dual Auto Charger, which isn’t nearly as sweet.
The big one has two USB ports and will charge pretty much anything that can charge over USB, but it also sticks out super far. I guess you can’t have everything.
It’s not out yet though
Wait… Somebody help me out here, please.
Why can’t I take the USB cable from my BB Storm and plug it into the charger first pictured above?
I’m deducing that even though the opposite end of my micro USB cable, furthest from my BB when plugged in, will not work with the first charger.
Is there something internal to the charger that prevents the charger from being universal?
I’m not entirely sure. I didn’t want to promise anything on their part that they didn’t mention; I don’t see any reason why the small one shouldn’t work for other devices, but I don’t want to make assumptions. I’m going with how they described it. Seems to me that if you have a USB device it should work via the smaller charger. They do INCLUDE a charger for iphone/ipod, so it’s possible that’s what they meant. But it’s a bit vague.
I’m the PR Manager at Belkin, and yes, you can plug any USB device into the Micro Auto Charger– so that would include your BB Storm, your iPod, etc. The beauty of the Micro Auto Charger is that it can charge up to 1amp, which is what iPhones and GPS systems charge at. That means a much quicker charge. You can still charge your iPod or BB through it, but it will only charge at the device’s max power (which is 500 milliamps for iPods and BB). Hope that helps!
Micro autocharger did not work on a Motorola Razr V3. On a Navigon GPS, instead of charging brings up a PC link screen (thinks it is connected to a PC and not a car charger).
@ PR Mgr Melody Chalaban, sorry. It does NOT work with ANY usb device. It is up to 1A but somehow it either puts out too much or too little.
I really do like it if there is a way to use it. Any advice is appreciated. It is a promising product (great compact design).
ummm … many other manufacturers have been selling these for dirt cheap for years *scratches head*
Yes, but this one is NEW!!! :)
Could you direct me to a product like this one? There are many cig lighter to USB but not a MICRO. Yes, if this does not work, I will be getting one of those “been out there” ones. All the ones (4) I have now either broke (non-name branded) or have wire problem. These are flaky. I tried google on “mini”, “micro”, etc. Really appreciate it. Thanks.
That is screwed up the iphone is still popular i see everyone at the mall showing it off especially near the apple store fyi there have been these things out for a long time i got a pack for ipod gear for 10bucks cause it was in clearance and a usb car charger came with it
I was also under the impression these devices had been around a while but admittedly most are not as well put together as this one. Check out This* digital security site to learn how to safely use USB tokens/ports etc.
You dont seem to get the point. This isn’t news because its a usb car charger, its news because its so small that it sits flush with your car’s dash when inserted into the accessory charger. This will work with any phone that has a usb charger. Is not limited to just iPhones.
I actually can’t believe that it took THIS long for someone to release such a device. Very nifty.
These have been out for forever but they looked ugly (like pic#2).
Definitely can’t wait to get the new, sleek, tiny version. Oh so sexy. My girlfriend will gasp when she sees it, I’m not even kidding.
I think the disclaimer of only working with iphone/ipod is fair. Sometimes I try to charge a garmin with a different generic usb charger and it won’t work. But if it does work it’s nice that it’s flush since most of my chargers get knocked off. I may have to give this a try. If one works then I’m in for two.
Considering how difficult it can me to remove regular car chargers from the socket, how the hell are we to remove one that you can’t grab?
The only problem I see with something like this, is that some cars continue supplying power to the lighter socket, even when the car is off.
Leave it in, end up with a dead battery.
Then again, my car is a 2002 model. Maybe the newer ones don’t do this anymore? I don’t know.
uhhh at the tiny MICRO amps this would consume with nothing plugged into it it would take DAYS if not WEEKS to deplete your cars battery :-)
Agree. Even if the drain is tiny, it is a drain. Most cars now have about 2, one when turned on and one continuous.
[...] Belkin Micro Auto Charger isn’t a new concept but it’s one of the sleekest auto [...]
Ooops, should have said good post! Waiting for your next one!
This charger works with every USB device I own.
Blackberries
Motorola Phones
Jawbone BlueTooth
TomTom
IPod of course
Since both my cars turn off power to the cigar and aux ports when the ignition is off, I’m not worried about drain. It draws only slightly with no device plugged in anyway.
The BEST thing about it is no more replacing the charger on a regular basis when the cord dies or when something hits the end of it. Used to break about one every two months between different family members in the two vehicles. Now if something breaks, it’s a usb cable. Big deal.
Buy it for the ipod. Use it for everything.
I have a Motorola Razr. It did not work. Which Moto device do you own? I can try with every usb cable I have and see if one works. Out of the few devices I had using the same cable, Navigon GPS did work and it goes into the PC link mode and not charge. Ended up using the Navigon car charger. Cannot be used for everyting?
so is this available to buy yet?
Yeah, seems from sometime last month. It is only available with a iPod cable combo. Could not find it by itself anywhere (in most popular stores I looked). I do not have a iPhone/iPod but wanted to try it out for phone charging purpose and did not work on Moto Razr V3. Still trying. It might be really good for iPhone/Pod and any other devices that work on trial-and-error. Sigh.
I just purchased the Belkin Micro Auto Charger. I think it works great. But how do I remove it now that it is in my cig lighter and flush with the dash? and will it drain my truck battery?
Is the Micro Auto Charger completely flush to your cig lighter? The Charger has a lip on it, so you should be able to grip it and pull it out from the cig lighter. And, not won’t drain your truck battery.
How did you get to go in flush? I bought it to try it and it stuck out about 1/4 in+. Did you use it on a Apple or Motorola product. Or a BB? It did not work on my Razr so trying to figure this out. I am trying everything before I return it. Thx.
Motorola phones (RAZR, KRZR, etc) use miniUSB to charge, but they require a signal pin that isn’t provided with a normal USB->miniUSB cable. Belkin (and others) make a USB->miniUSB “charging-only” cable that provides that pin and allows motorola phones to be charged with devices like this.