Anyone Using This Arkon Cigarette Lighter Adapter?

[Golf Nut]

Was thinking about picking one of these up for my soon-to-arrive Evo but and was wondering if anyone has any real-world experience with this and their Evo. Does the charging cable actually provide enough juice to keep the battery level the same (or increase it) when using the Evo as a GPS or streaming music to my car stereo?

Here's the Amazon listing for the product:

Amazon.com: Arkon MICRO Universal Lighter Socket Mount with Micro USB Charge Cable for Mobile Phones and Smartphones (Black): Cell Phones & Service

Thanks in advance.

 

[Golf Nut]

Just got an e-mail from Arkon saying that the power rating on this lighter socket mount is around 500 mAH. Not enough to charge the Evo except when not being used. The Arkon rep did say they are working on revising the mount to provide adequate power for the newer power-hungry devices like the Evo 4G while running full-tilt.

So for now, this lighter socket mount gets a thumbs-down from me.

 

[randompre21]

I was eyeing that one along with the passenger seat bolt mounted one.

Nice research.

 

[Golf Nut]

Thanks. I suppose a solution if you like the design of this lighter socket mount is to buy these two items instead:

Amazon.com: Arkon Universal Mini Grip Lighter Socket Mount with Power Dongle for Mobile Phones and Smartphones (Black): Cell Phones & Service


AND

Amazon.com: Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad: Electronics

The Scosche charger is supposed to put out 2100mAH through one of the USB ports (good for high-draw items like an Evo or iPad), and 1000 mAH through the other USB port. I think this is what I am going to try.

 

[randompre21]

I actually like the design of this one.

Amazon.com: Arkon Universal Mini Grip 15-Inch Floor Mount for?

I want to mount it behind the dash somewhere. I have a slightly complicated idea working in my head, but if it grips like the other models, this will work perfect. Will upload a new thread once i get it working, but i would like to keep it down to once piece plus charger

 

[AZwldcats]

I actually like the design of this one.

Amazon.com: Arkon Universal Mini Grip 15-Inch Floor Mount for…

I want to mount it behind the dash somewhere. I have a slightly complicated idea working in my head, but if it grips like the other models, this will work perfect. Will upload a new thread once i get it working, but i would like to keep it down to once piece plus charger

You have a link to it instead of the pic only?

 

[rizorith]

Thanks. I suppose a solution if you like the design of this lighter socket mount is to buy these two items instead:

Amazon.com: Arkon Universal Mini Grip Lighter Socket Mount with Power Dongle for Mobile Phones and Smartphones (Black): Cell Phones & Service


AND

Amazon.com: Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad: Electronics

The Scosche charger is supposed to put out 2100mAH through one of the USB ports (good for high-draw items like an Evo or iPad), and 1000 mAH through the other USB port. I think this is what I am going to try.

Have you actually tried that Arkon? Because someone (maybe you?) suggested buying it a while back and I got it. It is the biggest POS I've bought so far.

1. Doesn't charge. It does the whole, charges for 30 seconds and then stops thing.

2. Blocks the charging port unless you configure the dock in a weird manner.

3. Low quality

4. Barely fits in my cig light adaptor (may not be Akron's fault)

5. It's 500mah, says so right on the lighter.

You really shouldn't be suggesting something that either you've never tried or somehow you have a different model/different specs.

 

[Golf Nut]

I do not have any experience with either the Arkon lighter socket mount or the Scosche lighter socket USB charger. However, both should arrive tomorrow so I will report back once I've had a chance to try it out.

I was not aware that the lighter socket on the Arkon mount only puts out 500 mAH. That does suck and totally defeats having a 1000 or 1200 mAH USB charger like the Scosche. I could not find that spec on Arkon's website.. guess i should have asked Arkon that question before posting.

Sounds like the Arkon lighter socket adapter will be going straight back to Amazon...

 

[randompre21]

Have you actually tried that Arkon? Because someone (maybe you?) suggested buying it a while back and I got it. It is the biggest POS I've bought so far.

You really shouldn't be suggesting something that either you've never tried or somehow you have a different model/different specs.

I wouldn't go throwing blame around just because you bought something off of a strangers word.

And Did i miss something? I thought you clearly stated in the 2nd post that

Just got an e-mail from Arkon saying that the power rating on this lighter socket mount is around 500 mAH. Not enough to charge the Evo except when not being used.

So for now, this lighter socket mount gets a thumbs-down from me.

I wouldn't go throwing blame around just because you bought something off of a strangers word.

I agree that people should recommend products they have used, but if they don't, like the majority of people that spam the products they are affiliated with, its up to YOU to do YOUR OWN research.


Lets not attack people for sharing information.(p.s not attacking u )

 

[rizorith]

I wouldn't go throwing blame around just because you bought something off of a strangers word.

And Did i miss something? I thought you clearly stated in the 2nd post that




I wouldn't go throwing blame around just because you bought something off of a strangers word.

I agree that people should recommend products they have used, but if they don't, like the majority of people that spam the products they are affiliated with, its up to YOU to do YOUR OWN research.


Lets not attack people for sharing information.(p.s not attacking u )

I got you. It's just that I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith here that if someone is recommending a product they have at least tried it. There are so many flaws with this car dock that i don't even see how it could be a consideration for an EVO user unless he/she hasn't even tried it.

By the way, part of doing research is reading reviews. The guy who posted said it worked great for the EVO. The manufacturer obviously has no knowledge of the evo (it's a generic dock) and I couldn't find the 1/2 amp power rating anywhere on their website. So the only way I could find out if the critical factors in a dock work for the EVO, is to read a review that someone else wrote.

Oh so in case anyone is reading this, I wouldn't bother with it. The $3 dock at monoprice (for GPS) actually works much better.

 

[randompre21]

agreed, and i feel your pain. trust me, i've been there, with car parts no less

I plan on purchasing the arkon car bolt dock to see if it suits my needs.

Will throw a thorough review up once i get it, good or bad

 

[Golf Nut]

I got you. It's just that I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith here that if someone is recommending a product they have at least tried it. There are so many flaws with this car dock that i don't even see how it could be a consideration for an EVO user unless he/she hasn't even tried it.

By the way, part of doing research is reading reviews. The guy who posted said it worked great for the EVO. The manufacturer obviously has no knowledge of the evo (it's a generic dock) and I couldn't find the 1/2 amp power rating anywhere on their website. So the only way I could find out if the critical factors in a dock work for the EVO, is to read a review that someone else wrote.

Oh so in case anyone is reading this, I wouldn't bother with it. The $3 dock at monoprice (for GPS) actually works much better.

My apologies if an of my posts in this thread ever came across as recommending either version of the Arkon lighter socket mount, but never at any time in my previous posts in this thread did I say that I have used or recommend this product, or say it worked great for the EVO. I did say "I suppose a solution..." (see post #4 in this thread) and if that got taken as a recommendation then I apologize.

The reason for my original post was to ask if anyone has used the Arkon lighter socket mount that had a charging cable built in. Arkon confirmed in an e-mail to me that that model of lighter socket mount only pushes 500 mAH through its included charging cable (see post #2 in this thread).

In no way am I affiliated with Arkon or Scosche. Just an EVO newbie looking for an acceptable docking/charging solution for my vehicle.

 

[Doc]

Be careful with any car charging product. Cars were not designed to provide electricity to anything other than what comes with the car. I know of a few people who ruined their electronic gear by plugging it into a lighter socket.

Doc

 

[Golf Nut]

So I sent Arkon an e-mail question regarding their SM421 Mega Grip Universal Holder - Lighter Socket Mount with Power Dongle:

Here's what I asked:

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"Does the lighter socket built into this mount push enough "juice" to allow the Scosche Revive II USB charger to deliver the full 1000 or 1200 mAH charge? Thanks!"

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Here is the response I received from Marc Richards, US Account Manager for Arkon:

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"Hi Jason, thank you for the inquiry. The current output of the lighter socket should be ~ 2A, so your 1000-1200 mAH adapter should be fine. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance."

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I just received this lighter socket mount in the mail today, but my Scosche Revive II USB charger is not scheduled to arrive until next week, so I will not be able to post my personal results with this solution until next weekend. I may try the mount with the generic Sprint charger I bought for my Blackberry Tour just to see what happens.

Regards.