EVO as a car GPS device and charging???

[johnner1999]

Question, I'm sort of new to the Android platform (have been with an iPhone since the 1st model)

Bought an EVO last week-end - and so far its an awesome device! I do miss the higher quality apps of the iPhone BUT....

OK

my question is, and I hope it makes sense. But it appears that if I use a car USB charger to power the EVO and charge the battery, the battery never fully charges and in fact on longer drives it actually consumes battery as well? Mostly used as a GPS with Google Navigate (no other real apps in the background).

I stopped at BestBuy and the guy (nice as he was) gave me an answer I didn't agree with. As he stated since the EVO is more of a laptop then phone is can't charge and run at the same time... which makes some sense BUT I have a hard time believing the power unit in the phone draws that power?

This is sort of a deal breaker for me - as I don't want to use it as a GPS or Pandora for that matter and end up at my destination with little to no power... The Best Buy person suggeted I buy a 2nd battery - which is great and all but would i'd rather not have to charge 2 batteries and carry the spare. I would much rather have a system that worked like it did with my previous phone. Don't want to sound like a downer here at all -- I really like the EVO better then the iPhone and my wife seems to agree.

Thanks for any info on this and I'm looking forward to enjoying this site!

JOhn

 

[Gekko]

assuming that everything is functioning properly - i believe that an OEM cigarette lighter charger should trickle charge the device enough to compensate for the GPS Navigation usage. my guess is that if you leave it plugged into the cigarette lighter during the long trip - your battery should remain close to 100%.

i have used the phone for long drives and talked on the phone while simultaneously using 4G data (in and out) all the while using the Sprint OEM car charger and i was at 100% charge at my destination. i doubt that GPS and Navigation use more than Voice 3G + 4G data combined.

time for you to go back to the test cockpit and try again.

 

[pinoyxpryde]

Check the output of your charger. 500ma might not be enough to feed GPS.

I have a 700ma charger and it holds steady with GPS and slacker running

 

[johnner1999]

Check the output of your charger. 500ma might not be enough to feed GPS.

I have a 700ma charger and it holds steady with GPS and slacker running

Is there a screen on the phone that shows what the power level is coming in?

Now I'm not using an actual car charger cable to micro usb... I am using a car to usb adapter plug then plugging in a usb to micro usb cable. Used it on my iPods and iPhone from previous gadgets -- I assumed (yeah I know what that means lol) that all usb adapters were a set power level. Actually I am hoping I'm wrong in this case

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

Usb spec is 500ma. The evo's ac charger is 1000ma. You want a car charger capable of as close to 1000 as possible. Also watch the temperature; if the evo gets too hot while charging it will stop and blink the led orange and green until it cools enough, as a precaution to avoid battery exploding. Often phones will get very hot charging and gps nav and Pandora.

 

[irock1985]

yea its probably just the output of that charger your using.. Check the label on the base adapter and see what it is

 

[meyerweb#CB]

BTW, just one more example that BB people often don't have a clue, and when they don't they'll just guess or make something up.

This Belkin charger is rated at a full 1000ma:

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Micro-...tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU201881

 

[mightymouse68]

On a recent trip from St. Louis to Chicago, I had Google Nav running while watching movies that I was running through BT and my charger kept the phone at almost 100% the entire time.

 

[curthibbs]

BTW, just one more example that BB people often don't have a clue, and when they don't they'll just guess or make something up.

This Belkin charger is rated at a full 1000ma:

Amazon.com: Belkin Micro USB Auto Charger 5VOLT 1A: Electronics

This is the USB car charger that I have, and I use my Evo as a GPS exactly the way you say you want. This one not only fully powers the Evo, but also charges it at the same time.

 

[MannyZ28]

Yeah it definitely depends on the capacity of your car charger. I have the 850 one from Sprint that was sold as the official charger for the Palm Pre, and it charges my battery quickly, even if I use Sprint Navigation.

Invest in a good charger and you won't have any problems.

 

[Complex Pants]

Yeah it definitely depends on the capacity of your car charger. I have the 850 one from Sprint that was sold as the official charger for the Palm Pre, and it charges my battery quickly, even if I use Sprint Navigation.

Invest in a good charger and you won't have any problems.

I have the same one (I think it is 900ma though) and it charges my Evo perfectly.

And just for the record for the BB employee...laptops can charge while in use....

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

On a recent trip from St. Louis to Chicago, I had Google Nav running while watching movies that I was running through BT and my charger kept the phone at almost 100% the entire time.

Maintaining a full charge is easier and produces less heat than actually charging the battery. I suspect it would have more issue had your battery been lower when you plugged it in.

Of course, it's all situational anyway as to when it overheats. If you have your EVO propped in front of your car's A/C vents, then no it'll likely never overheat and stop charging

 

[Kristy_Joy]

I had to stop in and laugh at the answer that the BB employee gave you. It's always hilarious to me when someone completely makes up an answer off the top of their head and presents it as fact.

 

[mrazzino]

Mine says for output 5VDC 1.5A - what does that mean in terms of ma? Seems to charge my phone alright but I haven't tried using GPS while charging in the car (I leave the GPS up to my Garmin...)

 

[darrylb1]

i really like my evo. i'm almost always using it. to the point where like the guy who wrote an article about returning his ipad to an apple store. he said it wasn't the ipad's fault, it was his fault. he wanted to free himself from always finding some reason to play with the ipad. the ipad was taking over his life. evo hasn't taken over my life, but has become a very important part of my life. it is a very good tool.
so threads like this really irk me. with a phone like the evo, htc and sprint should have dealt with all of these power issues. the evo battery should last longer and trickle charge quickly. since the htc software update i get longer battery life depending upon what i do, if i'm in my car talking, battery still dies fast. if i take a long trip and discover that using the car charger didn't make the difference, i'd be pissed if i'm on zero and need a wall charge, at the lake in the middle of no where

 

[johnner1999]

Thanks guys and (gals?) -- you rock!

The two usb adapters I have in my car didn't have a label but looked them up on line and what do you know. Both were rated at 500ma! I saw one rated at 2.1a (2100ma?) made for iPad use - is that too much juice; or does the EVO regulate the power? The one cool thing is its flush to the cigarette lighter socket...
Griffin Technology: PowerJolt Micro for iPad - 2.1 amp car charger for iPad, iPhone and iPod

again thanks for the help....

John

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

It's way more than you need, but it shouldn't bother it.

 

[jalba3]

Mine says for output 5VDC 1.5A - what does that mean in terms of ma? Seems to charge my phone alright but I haven't tried using GPS while charging in the car (I leave the GPS up to my Garmin...)

1.5A=1500mA

The stock wall charger that came with out phones is rated at 1000mA which equals 1A

 

[andddlay01]

Juuuuust making sure, and after reading the responses here this is probably a dumb question.

I have this one, with the specs:
Input Voltage 12-24 vdc
output voltage 5dc +-5%
Max output current 1000MA (1A)
My device gets uber hot when using this adapter. This one is safe for my EVO, right?

 

[mrazzino]

1.5A=1500mA

The stock wall charger that came with out phones is rated at 1000mA which equals 1A

Thanks! I realized this about 5 minutes after posting my question.. lol. Oops! At least I know my charger will be sufficient for my Evo (or I think it is. It is actually a Dual USB 12v converter so maybe each one only outputs 750mA.) I guess I'll find out.