Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

car charger that works with the 3G iPhone?

F

firewood

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 29, 2003
8,149
1,400
Silicon Valley
Reports are that some models of car chargers (the kind that plug into lighter socket) won't work with the 3G iPhone, because they use Firewire voltages instead of the lower USB voltages.

Which make, model, brand of car charger has anyone tested and found to actually work with their 3G iPhone? I want to make sure I get the right kind.

(Oops, should have been posted in the accessories forum instead of here. Admin please move.)
 
i have the griffin power jolt and it works fine. the power jolt SE also works from what i have read. good luck.
 
I just ordered a PowerJolt SE from an eBay store. It got delivered today.

It's small, looks great, and does what it's supposed to. Look around, you can find then for about thirteen dollars online.
 
bmms8 said:
i have the griffin power jolt and it works fine. the power jolt SE also works from what i have read. good luck.
Click to expand...

I don't recall the name of mine, but it's a Griffin product that uses USB plugs. Since the big deal is about no more firewire circuitry, I'm sure it would work fine with an iPhone 3G. It was $20 at The Apple Store.
 
Griffin are just getting there officially 3G compatible kit out. Word is that most of the old stuff works, but they can't actually brand it as 3G compatible yet.

I'd give it a bit, if you want to kill 3 birds with one stone and get a GPS holder/radio player/charger./ If you just want a car charger, I'll look at what griffin said regarding their old stock. To be honest, if you went into a store, and asked them if it worked with a 3G they'd probably say you could return it if it didn't work.
 
Michael CM1 said:
I don't recall the name of mine, but it's a Griffin product that uses USB plugs. Since the big deal is about no more firewire circuitry, I'm sure it would work fine with an iPhone 3G. It was $20 at The Apple Store.
Click to expand...

yea it should work fine with no problems. good luck
 
t0mat0 said:
Griffin are just getting there officially 3G compatible kit out. Word is that most of the old stuff works, but they can't actually brand it as 3G compatible yet.
Click to expand...
Any idea when their official 3G chargers will be out? I'm going on vacation in 4 weeks and want to have a car charger by then.
 
Bought a PowerJolt SE at Walmart for like $16 and it did NOT indicate if it works on a 3G. The package states "iPhone", however It works fine on my 3G. The cord is extremely short.
MemphisDave
 
MemphisDave said:
Bought a PowerJolt SE at Walmart for like $16 and it did NOT indicate if it works on a 3G. The package states "iPhone", however It works fine on my 3G. The cord is extremely short.
MemphisDave
Click to expand...

I spoke with Griffin and they said the Power Jolt SE and the one with the USB cable will work for the 3G. It will be the same exact charger, same exact charger model number. No diffrence. The only change is that they will use a diffrent packaging to identify that it works with the iPhone 3G. Same thing with incase. A new packaging will be out soon to idenitfy that it works for iPhone 3G.
 
BLACK MAC said:
I spoke with Griffin and they said the Power Jolt SE and the one with the USB cable will work for the 3G. It will be the same exact charger, same exact charger model number. No diffrence. The only change is that they will use a diffrent packaging to identify that it works with the iPhone 3G. Same thing with incase. A new packaging will be out soon to idenitfy that it works for iPhone 3G.
Click to expand...

I just got an email response from Griffin tech support. They said that their products must be approved by Apple before they can say that it is compatible with the iPhone 3G. And since the iPhone 3G just came out, it will be a while before their products get approved for that. They said that their PowerBlock, PowerJolt for iPhone, and PowerDuo products work with the iPhone 3G, but there is a slight chance that they may not work if there are any firmware updates to the iPhone. As it stands now though, those products work with the iPhone 3G, without any need for feature or instruction changes.
 
I found that of all my older chargers that I once used with my iPod, then orginal iPhone, only the griffin powerjolt will actually charge my 3G iPhone.

Neither my kensington fm transmitter or iHome docking station will charge it.
 
Griffin AutoPilot works great. Sells for $52 at Best Buy but I picked 2 up on eBay for $20.99 each. I love it because it charges and has an aux out for easy plug in to the deck in my cars. If you can plug an aux cord straight into your deck then this is the way to go!
 
Charging and playing with Alpine CDA-9857?

I bought an Alpine CDA-9857 radio specifically because it supported charging and playing my iPod Nano at the same time, with artist/album/track info displayed on the radio. Apparently it charges through the firewire pins, so it doesn't charge the iPhone3G. However, it should be possible to build a dock connector adapter that converts the 12V firewire input pin to the 5V USB output pin... anybody aware of a product that does this?
 
Tried my about 5 year old cord and it didn't work. I just figured that all new ones would be USB compliant so I just ordered 2 cheep adaptors. Whis I read this thread first because it looks like they will be worthless when I get them.
 
Julien said:
Tried my about 5 year old cord and it didn't work. I just figured that all new ones would be USB compliant so I just ordered 2 cheep adaptors. Whis I read this thread first because it looks like they will be worthless when I get them.
Click to expand...

I bought something similar. I imagine it will be worthless too.
 
Bodah said:
I bought something similar. I imagine it will be worthless too.
Click to expand...

I now have 3 worthless car adaptors (although they will charge my Nano and iPod), one unopened. Anyone want to trade 3 (no good) for 1 (good)? :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back