New Belkin Gadget Turns Car Cig Lighter into Tasteful USB Charger
Posted 04/21/09 at 09:32:43 AM by Paul Lilly
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Does your car have a USB port? Kick that nasty smoking habit and it just might. By freeing up your car's cigarette lighter, you can then shove Belkin's Micro Auto Charger into the socket and charge your BlackBerry, iPod, or other USB devices.
The Micro Auto Charger comes with a single 1-amp USB "quick-charge port for fastest possible charge" and sits nearly flush with the dashboard, Belkin says. For a little more jingle (and a lot less svelte), Belkin also offers the Dual Auto Charger, which tosses an extra 500mA USB port and USB-to-mini-USB cable into the mix.
You'll have to wait until next month for the Micro Auto Charger, which will sell for $15, or $20 if you want Belkin to include a iPode/iPhone cable. Those interested in the Dual Auto Charger can pick one up now for $30.
Hm...Perhaps...
Submitted by winmaster on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 8:48am
Perhaps car companies should just start putting USB ports on dashboards and leaving out the cigarette charger. Seriously, does anybody still use those?
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The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Cool get this and then I'll
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 10:53am
Cool get this and then I'll only need to get a USB powered cigarette lighter.
Nothing special or
Submitted by neo1piv14 on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 9:25am
Nothing special or innovative, but it does look rather nice. And for 15/20 bucks, I'd probably go for it just as a cheap way to charge my phone. However, most car stereos these days come with USB ports on the front that you can use to charge your stuff too.
How is this different than
Submitted by jcollins on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 8:28am
How is this different than any other cigarette lighter USB charger?
Because
Submitted by AntiHero on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 12:02pm
It sits flush against te dash, better than something protruding, or in my fiancee's car's case (Cavalier), something getting in the way of hers/my knuckles. Some cars do not have the cigarette lighter in a convenient position, so using a cigarette lighter slot for an FM tuner can be tricky since they come off the dash by about 2 inches, just enough for me to find it in the way of my driving (or my fiancee's driving, which i am more concerned about)since the lighter is directly behind the wheel, so that if you're driving, sure it;s in a good place, but if you're nota smoker, then forget about it.
I don't like Microsoft, I associate with it.
I like the idea, next
Submitted by Denis63 on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 7:30am
I like the idea, next can they make me a compact charger that'll charge my laptop from my cigarette lighter? inverters are too big. -Denis
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 10:58am
Befor these inverters got cheap and popular laptop manufacturers used to sell car cigarette lighter chargers that you plugged into the car and then into the power slot on the laptop. I do miss the old days. You see these inverters can pull way too much juice and actually damage your alternator and voltage regulator. The old fashioned 12volt charger just used a tiny transformer and a voltage regulation circuit to charge your laptop. The old chargers were alot easier on your car. Use the inverter at your own risk.
Submitted by winmaster on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 8:49am
New cars these days have 120 volt power outlets built right into them.
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The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
What remains to be seen is
Submitted by Cache on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 6:53am
What remains to be seen is how many Belkin employees solicit positive reviews for this...
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