Scosche USBC202M Dual 10 Watt (2.1A) USB Car Charger works with iPhone 5, 5S and 5C

Scosche USBC202M Dual 10 Watt (2.1A) USB Car Charger works with iPhone 5, 5S and 5C..

Special Price Scosche USBC202M Dual 10 Watt (2.1A) USB Car Charger works with iPhone 5, 5S and 5C By Scosche

Most helpful customer reviews

211 of 237 people found the following review helpful.
Work for iPad but not USB devices
By Mark
The packaging for the Scosche USBC202M dual iPad charger states "Works with iPad ... Android Devices"
That is misleading.

Short version: if the technical info below means nothing to you, don't buy this charger to use with any device except the iPad:

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This will apparently charge the iPad at the full 2.1 amp rate (I haven't tried it with two iPads but based on other reviews assume it will do that too).

However, I bought two of these - for my iPad AND two different cell phones (Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Android and HTC HD2, Windows Mobile) which can both be charged at around 1 amp but neither of which will charge at more than 0.5 amp using this charger - the same rate achieved from a computer USB slot.
Other car chargers work just fine, using this one actually causes my Samsung phone to have less battery after a few hours driving than when I started.
This is also not immediately apparent because the phones look like they are charging but when you watch the charge over a few hours, or (with the Samsung) check the charging status, it says "USB charging".

This is caused by a USB/iDevice design challenge; to protect computers, early USB spec stated that no USB device may draw more than 0.5 amp unless the computer agrees to it. Later USB specs allow the two USB data pins to be shorted to go up to 1.7 amps - this is what my phone needs. As I understand it, the iPad requires specific signals on the 2 data lines to use the full 2.1 amp charge rate, and if connected to a charger that has shorted data pins - i.e. one that works well for most phones, will not charge at the full rate, if it charges at all. All this regardless of the maximum charge current the charger can provide.

My workaround is to acquire a cable that shorts the data pins for just the outlet I want to use with the phone.

Otherwise, for anyone that has two iPads, this is a super device - the smallest dual port iPad (2x 2.1A) charger I have seen yet and I love the low profile (most vehicle chargers consume way too much space outside of the vehicle outlet).

It would have given 3 stars if it had not used misleading wording on the packaging, 4 stars if the packaging had pointed out the USB challenges, and 5 stars if it had a mechanical or electronic switch to make it compatible with other modern USB devices.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Needs a 'charge only' cable for Google Nexus 7
By Brad
As many reviews before state, this charger is designed for Apple devices. It requires a charge only cable to comply with the USB standards required by many android devices, which includes the Google Nexus 7.

69 of 79 people found the following review helpful.
Great and powerful charger but you need a "charge only cable" for USB Devices!
By Techguru
The charger is great and provides an AC charge to my Samsung Galaxy S3. This basically means that using the charger with a "charge only" USB cable will make your phone think that it is plugged into the wall. Apple products DO NOT have this issue with charging on USB chargers as the technology that developed with the Apple charging system was designed to circumvent that specific problem. Apple users are good to go with any of their native cables. If you have an Android device, you will need to purchase a "charge only" USB cable...I cannot emphasize that enough!

Normal USB cables carry both data and charge and the data "communicates" with the USB effectively limiting the amount of power that can be received from a USB charger.

I can run GPS/Bluetooth /music/video and everything in between all a once and my phone will still charge via AC as confirmed on my GS3's charging screen. Normally it would say "USB charge" if i used my phones normal USB cable.

Here is the selection of "charge only" USB cables from 3BR Powersports, LLC that I use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie=UTF8&asin=&isAmazonFulfilled=&isCBA=&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=&seller=ATHXXHPG0APQN

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