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Scosche Announces Lineup of Lightning Charging Accessories

Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
realeric said:
Why are they more expensive than apple's genuine products?
Click to expand...

StrikeBolt Charger isn't a bad deal. Compare w/ Apple:

2 12v chargers = $40
1 Lightning Cable =$20

So to charge two devices that's $60 w/ Apple's accessories. The Strike Bolt is $50 w/ cable and you don't have to carry around two adapters to charge two devices simultaneously.
 
I

inlinevolvo

macrumors 6502
Jul 11, 2012
359
3
derek4484 said:
Holy smokes that's expensive. I really dont like buying knock-offs but I will NOT spend $50 for a car charger. EBay knock-offs here I come!

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Does it work properly? Or is it only good for charging? The Lightning connector has a built in microchip that automatically adjusts pin functionality.
Click to expand...

The listing says it charges and can handle data. The chip has been reverse engineered already. I'll post back once I receive it.
 
TallManNY

TallManNY

macrumors 601
Nov 5, 2007
4,741
1,594
I've got enough 30 pin chargers around the house right now. So I just bought the Apple attachment for $30. That way I can have one cord and switch between charger for iPhone 5 and iPad 3, as well as other folks older iPhones.
 
croooow

croooow

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2004
1,044
206
BruceEBonus said:
What a sad state we are now on when Apple thought it a great idea to change their dock connectors for no other purpose than for changes sake and incur ££££s of unnecessary extra cost to it customers.
Click to expand...

There is a purpose (at least for iPhones and iPod) to take up less room. I think a lot of people do not realize how much stuff there is inside their phones.

If you think Apple really doesn't need to keep making their phones thinner and lighter, I will not disagree (I have NEVER heard anyone complain about how their iPhone was too thick or heavy, any iPhone) that is another issue, but as long as they are reducing the size (as most electronics companies do) the components need to become smaller.

The 30 Pin connector lasted 9 years, has any modern multi-function connector for small portable devices lasted that long? Micro USB started in 2007, as long as it is not replaced with another version of USB (like the Mini USB was, after it started in 2000) then it will outlast the 30 Pin.

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jasheeky said:
Will somebody just make a 6 ft cable already!??
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How about 9 ft? Well, I am sure you meant a Lightning cable. How about a 6 foot extension for the short Apple one? Not as elegant as a single clean wire, but it is cheap and they come in different lengths to fit your specific needs.
 
B

bhuwan

macrumors newbie
Jul 24, 2006
15
0
Why, oh Why do you have to make this cable so expensive apple? Don't I already give you enough of my $$...?
 
M

MN7119

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2011
486
564
Icaras said:
Yup, that's what I just did. Just bought a couple of additional lightning cables for our cars to use with our existing in-car USB chargers.
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What type of USB car chargers do you guys have? I have 2 different ones that I usually use on my car or planes to charge my iPad or bluetooth car handsfree but none of them worked in my car with the lightning cable.
 
M

Mr.Spahkol

macrumors newbie
Nov 14, 2012
1
0
John.B said:
I'm at a loss to understand why the major charger manufacturers like Belkin and Scosche continue to sell hardwired charges in this age of USB connectors. Instead of being able to replace a bad cable or a bad charger, you have to replace the whole unit? Who buys these things? Is it just because people don't know any better?
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No it's because it's a requirement by Apple. It's either a significantly different kind of cable (the dual cable) or it's hard-wired for 3rd-parties. Other than that, you can buy Apple's $20 cable and use a USB charger.
 
Icaras

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,393
MN7119 said:
What type of USB car chargers do you guys have? I have 2 different ones that I usually use on my car or planes to charge my iPad or bluetooth car handsfree but none of them worked in my car with the lightning cable.
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Well both my wife and I are currently using Belkin's Bluetooth CarAudio Connect AUX so we can get wireless audio in the car, but I particularly like this Bluetooth receiver because it also has a charging port, freeing your car charger. Charges our iphone 5s great.

http://www.belkin.com/us/F4U037-Belkin/p/P-F4U037

I also have a Griffin powerjolt dual and a Kensington powerbolt and they work just fine too.
 
F

FooMan2011

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2012
43
0
Guys, isn't it cheaper to use the small USB car charger with a $19.99 cable from apple? That's what I did and it works perfect.
 
DudeDad

DudeDad

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2009
717
309
Why not make one with an aux out jack? I have a griffin autopilot (30-pin connector) that has the aux out jack. Prior to lightning bolt, I had it attached to a proclip 30-pin iphone cradle. Now that I have the iPhone 5, I removed the 30-pin from the cradle, purchased the 30-pin (female) to lightning (male) cable from Apple, and used Gorilla glue to attached the lightning end to the cradle -- now I have an iPhone 5 cradle that charges and passes audio to the griffin, and into my car's aux input.
 
ironpony

ironpony

macrumors regular
Oct 28, 2011
186
135
md
Seems like saving a little space by going to the new connector has paid off quite well.

Do electric car manufacturers do the same, "you must use our new improved extension cord".

lol engineering marvel or marketing marvel, do the math both ways and I think the marketing guys win.
I might be wrong.
 
mdelvecchio

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
FourMoreYears said:
These cables should cost no more than $4.99. To think that people will buy these, just falling in line like the Monster HDMI cables. :rolleyes:
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oh yeah? which hardware company do you run? where can i buy your products, since they're 90% cheaper than the competition?
 
H

hchung

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2008
689
1
BruceEBonus said:
Watt...I want to know is. What a sad state we are now on when Apple thought it a great idea to change their dock connectors for no other purpose than for changes sake and incur ££££s of unnecessary extra cost to it customers. Talk about cynical. Oh no. Sorry. These lightning connectors are really great aren't they? Smaller. Slimmer. Lighter. Thinner. Smaller.
Oh no! What am I saying? They're a pointless and unecessary 'upgrade' and have no discernible/practical advantage overt the old 30 pin other than being...smaller, lighter, thinner ... Unless that's the whole point is it?
Click to expand...

Unless the whole point is that it's still better? People have said plenty of reasons. I'll just highlight one.

This is the microUSB spec. In there, you'll find that the maximum current rating for microUSB is 9 Watts.

30-pin apparently supports at least 10 Watts, as in the iPad 3.
Lightning apparently supports at least 12 Watts.

People obviously aren't happy that tablets charge slower. So if you think it's Apple's just doing this to gouge you and piss off the EU....

Motorola Xoom tablet charges better through the barrel instead of microUSB.
Acer Iconia Tab A500, barrel.
ASUS Transformer, pogo pins.
LG G-Slate, barrel.
Samsung Galaxy Tab, not microusb either.
Nexus 10, magnetic pogo pins.... and not even released yet.
Nook Color, extended length non-standard microusb

http://voltaicsystems.com/blog/tablet-charging-guide/
http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...orum/221501-nexus-10-no-charger-included.html
 
thisisdallas

thisisdallas

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2012
233
35
Cupertino, CA
troy14 said:
I purchased a cigarette lighter to usb on eBay months ago for like 1$ each or whatever the cheapest ones from Hong Kong were. I purchased like 3-4 expecting them to fail. I'm still using the first one I plugged in with no problems, with my Apple USB to Lighting cable.

I recommend eBay for those adapters.
Click to expand...

I saw lots of them on there, but I read tons of reviews about them tearing up the wiring in the cars somehow, so I decided $9 would be a cheap enough precaution to make sure it wouldn't tear up my car in any way :p

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BruceEBonus said:
Watt...I want to know is. What a sad state we are now on when Apple thought it a great idea to change their dock connectors for no other purpose than for changes sake and incur ££££s of unnecessary extra cost to it customers. Talk about cynical. Oh no. Sorry. These lightning connectors are really great aren't they? Smaller. Slimmer. Lighter. Thinner. Smaller.
Oh no! What am I saying? They're a pointless and unecessary 'upgrade' and have no discernible/practical advantage overt the old 30 pin other than being...smaller, lighter, thinner ... Unless that's the whole point is it?

Paying forty quid for a car charger. That's alright isn't it? Worth the extra readies for .... Oh no ... What am I saying ... It's the biggest case of Kings Clothes Syndrome since .... Well ... Please enjoy the cash outlay whilst I use my PoundLand adaptor for me 4S will yIu pleased. Cheers :mad:
Click to expand...

While I think everyone can agree that they're overpricing these accessories and chargers, you're an idiot if you don't think the lightning was worth the upgrade.

I love being able to just plug my phone in, not worrying about whether I have it the right way or the wrong way.

The size is extremely small and sturdy, whereas the other one was massive and looked of the stone ages.

Yes, there were a ridiculous amount of accessories already made for the iPhone and iPad that are now useless, but it's not that big of a deal. You pay once or twice and have all of the chargers you need. Done.
 
justperry

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,557
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
Ed217 said:
Smallworld69 said:
The equation for power is basically P = I x V, where I is amps and V volts. Most car systems are 12V. So 12W is 1 amp at 12 volts. So a 5 amp fuse would carry 60 W, which is fine for a 12+12 charger.

Many accessory plugs may have much higher fuse ratings as they have to power things that take more than 60 W. I think many will have a 15 amp fuse to power things like a cig lighter or an air compressor for tires.
Click to expand...

Fixed that, (5 X 12 = 60);)

Not only that, when a car is running the voltage is higher than 12 volts, almost always 13.6 Volts so the output is even higher (78 Watts).


--------

It seems to me that Apple does not want manufacturers to sell USB chargers with detachable lightning cables included, it seems like only Apple will be able to sell USB to lightning cables.
Click to expand...
 
T

takeshi74

macrumors 601
Feb 9, 2011
4,974
68
BruceEBonus said:
Watt...I want to know is. What a sad state we are now on when Apple thought it a great idea to change their dock connectors for no other purpose than for changes sake and incur ££££s of unnecessary extra cost to it customers.
Click to expand...
deadhorse.gif


As many do, you're mistakenly assuming that "I don't see the point" = "no one sees the point". If you don't see the point then don't buy their lightning-equipped products. There are certainly reasons for lightning which have been discussed in many prior threads that you can refer to. IMO it's more of sad state of affairs that people think that they have to buy something that doesn't meet their needs/wants. Buy and use what works for you.

John.B said:
I'm at a loss to understand why the major charger manufacturers like Belkin and Scosche continue to sell hardwired charges in this age of USB connectors. Instead of being able to replace a bad cable or a bad charger, you have to replace the whole unit? Who buys these things?
Click to expand...
Why does it matter? If it doesn't work for you then don't buy it. If enough don't buy it won't be produced any longer.

If you really want to understand the core of the matter is that not everyone shares your specific needs/wants/priorities.

DudeDad said:
Why not make one with an aux out jack?
Click to expand...
Who says that there won't be one? Just as it was before lightning, the existence of chargers without aux out did not preclude the existence of ones with aux out. Not everyone needs or wants aux out. If you do then wait for one to be released.

thisisdallas said:
While I think everyone can agree that they're overpricing these accessories and chargers, you're an idiot if you don't think the lightning was worth the upgrade.
Click to expand...
Worth is always highly subjective no matter what the topic. Not agreeing with your sense of worth doesn't make one an idiot. :rolleyes:
 
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