FAQ: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>
>>>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?
>
>> Hardly -- Motorola is still bundling wimpy chargers.
>
> Although they are both rated at 375mA, it seems that the old one and new
> one that I have are actually different in practice.
>
> I have found separate listings at the same web site offering the "v60" and
> "v60 + v551" chargers at different prices, the old one with an admonition
> about not being able to use the phone while charging a dead battery.
>
> I haven't seen good specs for the chargers on a Motorola web site.
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5


This thread had me thinking about a trip to Florida I'm planning next month.
I'd sure like to take my MPX because it's more compact than the Treo. I
dragged out all my Moto chargers and it is definately an issue with the
contacts. If I hold downward tension on the plug, it makes contact. The
second I let go, it disconnects. And it isn't because the phone was abused.
I treat my phones with kid gloves and the same exact thing happens with the
desktop charging cradle and the car charger. No contact unless I hold the
plug at a downward angle. Since I wont have access to a computer for USB
charging, the Motorola stays home.
>

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› See More: FAQ: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?

In article <[email protected]>, Ric <[email protected]> wrote:
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>>>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?
>>
>>> Hardly -- Motorola is still bundling wimpy chargers.
>>
>> Although they are both rated at 375mA, it seems that the old one and new
>> one that I have are actually different in practice.
>>
>> I have found separate listings at the same web site offering the "v60" and
>> "v60 + v551" chargers at different prices, the old one with an admonition
>> about not being able to use the phone while charging a dead battery.
>>
>> I haven't seen good specs for the chargers on a Motorola web site.
>>
>> --
>> ---
>> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>
>
>This thread had me thinking about a trip to Florida I'm planning next month.
>I'd sure like to take my MPX because it's more compact than the Treo. I
>dragged out all my Moto chargers and it is definately an issue with the
>contacts. If I hold downward tension on the plug, it makes contact. The
>second I let go, it disconnects. And it isn't because the phone was abused.
>I treat my phones with kid gloves and the same exact thing happens with the
>desktop charging cradle and the car charger. No contact unless I hold the
>plug at a downward angle. Since I wont have access to a computer for USB
>charging, the Motorola stays home.

Another basic design flaw of the Motorola plug/socket assembly. The
contacts are made by plugging three tiny spring-loaded fingers into the
bottom of the phone. The plug is held in place by two tiny metal catches
that do not provide positive locking in place.

Compare this, for instance, to a USB plug which assures tight, reliable
contact for thousands of cycles. How many complaints have you read from
computer owners whose USB mouse fails to function because the plug/socket
assembly is loose or dirty?

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 22:49:15 +0000 (UTC),
[email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:

>In article <X3%[email protected]>,
>John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>In <[email protected]> on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:55:43 +0000 (UTC),
>>[email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:

>>>No, since cleaning the contacts on the phone often fixes it.
>>
>>They didn't get dirty by themselves. How is abusing the phone the fault of
>>Motorola?
>
>It isn't. But designing a connector which places uncovered electrical
>contacts facing outwards, where they can get dirty or contaminated with
>routine use, is their fault.

I don't see that in the connector design.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Wed, 21 Sep 2005 01:41:19 +0000 (UTC),
[email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:

>Another basic design flaw of the Motorola plug/socket assembly. The
>contacts are made by plugging three tiny spring-loaded fingers into the
>bottom of the phone. The plug is held in place by two tiny metal catches
>that do not provide positive locking in place.

The plug in my Motorola charger has positive locking to hold it in place.

>Compare this, for instance, to a USB plug which assures tight, reliable
>contact for thousands of cycles. How many complaints have you read from
>computer owners whose USB mouse fails to function because the plug/socket
>assembly is loose or dirty?

Not really comparable: large difference in both physical size and
functionality.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

John Navas wrote:
> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
> In <[email protected]> on Mon, 19 Sep 2005 17:34:44
> -0600, "Quaoar" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
>>> packaging slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.
>>
>> Well, $1 per charger over one million chargers is...you do the math.
>> Accountants and MBAs make their living on these numbers.
>
> Minus the sales lost to disgruntled prospects and customers, which
> makes it not necessarily a win for Motorola, a factor often
> overlooked by "bookies" and MBA types without real market experience.
> My personal opinion is that this kind of thinking is what contributed
> to Motorola's big decline in cellular. New that the company has been
> bouncing back it seems to be forgetting how it first got in trouble.

Dunno if they are bouncing back. I think their new crop of snazzy
phones are so fragile that they won't live to see the end of a two-year
contract. Great features, great reception, very poor electronic
reliability. IMO, FWIW.

Q

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Fri, 23 Sep 2005 19:28:57
-0600, "Quaoar" <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:

>> Minus the sales lost to disgruntled prospects and customers, which
>> makes it not necessarily a win for Motorola, a factor often
>> overlooked by "bookies" and MBA types without real market experience.
>> My personal opinion is that this kind of thinking is what contributed
>> to Motorola's big decline in cellular. New that the company has been
>> bouncing back it seems to be forgetting how it first got in trouble.
>
>Dunno if they are bouncing back. I think their new crop of snazzy
>phones are so fragile that they won't live to see the end of a two-year
>contract. Great features, great reception, very poor electronic
>reliability. IMO, FWIW.

I'm personally very impressed with the solidness of such Motorola phones as
the V551, V650, and V3.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

UPDATE: The NNTN4250 fast charger, which I picked up on eBay for only $7 (plus
$5 shipping) and just received, is a vast improvement over the standard
charger included with the V551:
* Charging is much faster
* Charges even while phone is in use
Highly recommended to anyone with a compatible Motorola phone and the wimpy
standard charger.

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 19 Sep
2005 22:05:17 GMT, John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:

>Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?
>
>A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current phones
>puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and for continuous
>use while charging.
>
>For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The V551
>detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external display backlight
>off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep up with use of
>the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the battery will still be
>discharged even with the phone on the charger. With a fast charger the
>external display backlight is on during charging, and the phone can be used
>while the battery is charging.
>
>Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these phones:
>* SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
>* NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel phones).
>These chargers are readily available from dealers and on eBay for under $15
>(plus shipping)
>
>For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by packaging
>slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>