Best In Car Charger for iPhone 4S ?

[Paul S4]

Recently bought a mate's iPhone 4S which is great after an old Nokia !

Battery use is poor, even with all the apps closed.

My daily commute is total 2 hours, so a decent car charger would be ideal.

I have tried a Belkin one, but it is hopeless as does not fit the 'cigarette socket' properly ( My Maplins USB adaptor works fine ), so that is going back by return post !

1) could I use the Apple charger supplied with the phone ( ie mains lead which is USB to 30 pin into phone ?

2) Best value aftermarket in car charger ?

Thanks in advance

[SlidingSideways]

Any lighter socket to USB adapter should be fine, just plug in your 30pin cable. I have a cheap one I got from Sainsburys.
It's worth buying an extra cable to leave in the car, preferably a longer one if you plan on using it in a dash mount for satnav etc...

[tog]

Paul S4 said:

My Maplins USB adaptor works fine

Just stick the Apple lead in this. One word of warning though - I've got through a couple of the Maplin USB supplies, which have both failed without warning. I don't know why, they just stop working. My suspicion is they got a fatal voltage spike if I left them in when starting the car, but I'm not certain.

[ZesPak]

Sorry, I've yet to find one that fits properly in my 159. They all fit but they don't stay in properly, so the light goes out,...

Tried about half a dozen. I know this doesn't help you, just wanted to give you a heads up that it might not be the charger...

[eybic]

I've had issues with some chargers not charging my iPhone but got one of these and it works perfectly.

[ZesPak]

eybic said:

I've had issues with some chargers not charging my iPhone but got one of these and it works perfectly.

The problem for me was not the phone (believe me, I've had a fair few ), it's the socket. They don't "click" in, which means their connection is pretty poor and even a slight nudge will cause them to lose contact. This is not helped by the fact that the cigarette lighter is located at my elbow.

[markmullen]

ZesPak said:

Sorry, I've yet to find one that fits properly in my 159. They all fit but they don't stay in properly, so the light goes out,...

159 cig lighters are particularly crap though, and you can't use the cupholder at the same time as the socket (italian quirkiness!).

I have a 4 way adaptor running off mine, I'm tempted to wire it into the back of the socket so the cupholder can be used and not have to shim up the Alfa socket with bits of rolled up paper.

[megaphone]

Sounds like you need to sort the socket out as it's incompatible with most plugs, fit a new socket.

[ecsrobin]

Paul S4 said:

Recently bought a mate's iPhone 4S which is great after an old Nokia !

Battery use is poor, even with all the apps closed.

My daily commute is total 2 hours, so a decent car charger would be ideal.

I have tried a Belkin one, but it is hopeless as does not fit the 'cigarette socket' properly ( My Maplins USB adaptor works fine ), so that is going back by return post !

1) could I use the Apple charger supplied with the phone ( ie mains lead which is USB to 30 pin into phone ?

2) Best value aftermarket in car charger ?

Thanks in advance

Battery life will be poor due to it being a 4 year old phone or thereabouts. It's probably worth looking into how much a new battery will cost from a local phone repair shop.

[mildmannered]

The cheapie chargers won't be of sufficient output to charge the phone when using satnav, so a better quality item will provide enough current to charge and run the phone when using power hungry apps.

This one has dual USB outputs, which may also be handy. Not the item I have purchased, but similar:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNIVERSAL-GRIFFIN-TWIN-2...

[ZesPak]

ecsrobin said:

Battery life will be poor due to it being a 4 year old phone or thereabouts. It's probably worth looking into how much a new battery will cost from a local phone repair shop.

It will be more than a 4s is worth though. I wouldn't bother, it's like putting a new fuel pump in a £500 car.

[mildmannered]

ZesPak said:

ecsrobin said:

Battery life will be poor due to it being a 4 year old phone or thereabouts. It's probably worth looking into how much a new battery will cost from a local phone repair shop.

It will be more than a 4s is worth though. I wouldn't bother, it's like putting a new fuel pump in a £500 car.

Or not...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-High-Capacit...

My 4S is four years old and still going strong

[blueST]

My 4s battery was really losing the will to live and was spending most of its life on charge. I bought a replacement off eBay for a fiver and it's much better if not good as new. 4s is very easy to change the battery on. Got to be worth a try if the battery life isn't what it should be.

[Spare tyre]

I have an iPhone 4

I messed about with all sorts of chargers / holders etc

Got one of these in halfords, really really good

I ran the cable neatly so it looks very neat

Mines stuck to bottom right of corner of screen

It connects via blue tooth so don't even have to dock it


Charges really quick

Fully recommend


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/171627743100?limghl...

[ZesPak]

mildmannered said:

Or not...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-High-Capacit...

My 4S is four years old and still going strong

Wasn't talking about doing it yourself... That changes the matter though.

[mildmannered]

ZesPak said:

Wasn't talking about doing it yourself... That changes the matter though.

Some say, he is so wealthy, his butler uses iPhones for drinks coasters...

All we know, he's called the ZesPak

[ZesPak]

mildmannered said:

Some say, he is so wealthy, his butler uses iPhones for drinks coasters...

All we know, he's called the ZesPak

? I was just saying that the prices stores ask aren't worth it.
Local store here asks £80 iirc... they do offer warranty on that, but still.

Edited by ZesPak on Saturday 24th January 06:41

[mildmannered]

I was only jesting, though it did seem funnier in my head. Subsequently reading it, not so much...

[Paul S4]

Thanks for all the replies.

I would like to add that my car is also an Alfa ...! A 2005 156 150 JTDM, and it would seem from a couple of the above posts that the socket may be more at fault.

As has been said many times...if you own an Alfa you have to live with those 'quirks' ( ie if you park on a hill and come back to the car, the fuel gauge reads empty !), but they are well worth it !

[ZesPak]

I don't know which head unit you have, I've got a pioneer one, has a usb slot in the back, which I wired through the dash using a $1 charging cable. Works a charm.