PRS-650 USB Power Supply for 350/650

[columbus]

Just bought a cheap Sony Ericsson phone, unsupprisingly the included micro USB charger works fine. It's only 550ma output but at least I now don't have to boot the computer just to charge my reader.

[Halk]

I ordered a cheapo one from eBay. £2.50 delivered from the UK. I'll link it up assuming it actually works!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Halk

I ordered a cheapo one from eBay. £2.50 delivered from the UK. I'll link it up assuming it actually works!

To be honest, I'd be worried about the build quality of such a cheap charger. For all we know, it could have fluctuating power output. Do you really want to risk your Reader? I know I don't.

I suggest when it arrives, you take it out of the packing and throw it away and buy one of good quality and a good make.

[Halk]

There's not a great deal else I can do. It has a CE mark and it's coming from a UK retailer. Here's the listing here. I wouldn't have got a cheapo one direct from China through Hong Kong as I'm a little bit more wary of gear that comes that way.

[JSWolf]

Too bad the photo doesn't show the CE listing. If it has one printed on it, it might be OK.

[Doogman]

Here's a 12V car charger that works:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Motorola SPN54000A
950 mA

By the way, you can rest assured that 100% of these chargers are made in China. If you can get one that's branded with a company logo it might get a little QC.

[columbus]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Too bad the photo doesn't show the CE listing. If it has one printed on it, it might be OK.

Nope!!! A lot of electrical / electronics coming from China have the CE mark, when even a cursory inspection shows that it is of lower quality and the mark is a fake.

Even BIG retailers have been caught by this here in Spain. And to buy from a market / Chinese retailer is sheer lunacy. I've had dangerously faulty CE marked Chinese goods from Carrefour the big French hypermarket.

Maybe it is different in the UK.

But is it really worth risking your £150+ reader by saving a few cents ?

[AGB]

Originally Posted by columbus

Nope!!! A lot of electrical / electronics coming from China have the CE mark, when even a cursory inspection shows that it is of lower quality and the mark is a fake.

Even BIG retailers have been caught by this here in Spain. And to buy from a market / Chinese retailer is sheer lunacy. I've had dangerously faulty CE marked Chinese goods from Carrefour the big French hypermarket.

Maybe it is different in the UK.

But is it really worth risking your £150+ reader by saving a few cents ?

I don't get it: With that argument, even the more expensive CE marked and branded version could very well be a dud.
One could even argue that a lot more is to be gained by copying the branded accessories, rather than selling a no-name item for much less.

[columbus]

Originally Posted by AGB

I don't get it: With that argument, even the more expensive CE marked and branded version could very well be a dud.
One could even argue that a lot more is to be gained by copying the branded accessories, rather than selling a no-name item for much less.

Big name branded CE Marked product bought from a big retailer is going to be OK I would have thought. e.g. Amazon etc.

The product I was referring to was CE marked but no known brand name & was lethal.

Was it not in the UK where a kiddy was badly injured or killed by a Chinese power adaptor for a game console passing 240V ac to the outlet.

[Halk]

Yes. And it's worldwide that chargers shipped with big ticket devices have overheated, "exploded" failed etc.

They're all made in China anyway. Regardless if it comes from Sony, Apple, Microsoft or whoever. There's only so much that you can do.

Going to a retailer and buying off the shelf there gets you no better quality either, they just add £15 to the price but sell the same quality.

[AGB]

And Apple, Sony, and a plethora of batteries from a lot of other big companies were recalled. Apple recalled their cheap-arse minicharger, because it was poorly made and the prongs could easily break.

But anyway, my point was this:
If a company is cheating with a false CE mark, surely it would not bother them to cheat with a false brand name.

It's like batteries: Just because it's a brand name, doesn't mean it's not made in the exact same factory as the ones without a brand name, or even with another brand name.
Think car spare parts.

[columbus]

Originally Posted by AGB

But anyway, my point was this:
If a company is cheating with a false CE mark, surely it would not bother them to cheat with a false brand name.

I think the point here is more about culpability.

I doubt the big retailer would risk knowingly selling 'grey' items in the first place.

Buy a branded item from a big retailer, not market place, and at the very least you have comeback for any damage caused.

[AGB]

Originally Posted by columbus

I think the point here is more about culpability.

I doubt the big retailer would risk knowingly selling 'grey' items in the first place.

Buy a branded item from a big retailer, not market place, and at the very least you have comeback for any damage caused.

Oh, so it's not about the actual safety anymore, but about culpability!

Anyway, I don't see the difference between buying a branded charger from a big retailer, and buying a non-branded from a supermarket or Amazon with the right marks (CE or equivalents, depending on where you're based).

[Halk]

Originally Posted by AGB

Anyway, I don't see the difference between buying a branded charger from a big retailer, and buying a non-branded from a supermarket or Amazon with the right marks (CE or equivalents, depending on where you're based).

Yeah, that's pretty much where I stand. I think direct from Hong Kong is probably cheaper than I'm prepared to go. The product recalls seem to show that bad batches can happen, that they'll only get picked up if a huge number are sold, and that Sony, Apple, etc seem just as likely to pick a bad retailer as I do. It's only going to get picked up if 10s of thousands are sold. Going to PC World and buying one off the shelf of which they'll likely sell a few thousand in total in the UK, and for dozens or maybe even hundreds of different devices over a long course of time isn't going to make me any safer.

All I can do is eliminate as much risk as I believe is reasonable. It's not possible to eliminate all risk.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Doogman

Here's a 12V car charger that works:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

Motorola SPN54000A
950 mA

By the way, you can rest assured that 100% of these chargers are made in China. If you can get one that's branded with a company logo it might get a little QC.

I have an even better system. I have an iGo wall charger with the Blackberry tip. I also have an iGo car charger. So if I wanted to be able to charge my 650 in the car, I can bring along the tip and swap it over to the car charger. Or I could just buy a second tip for the car. And I know the quality is good. It's not as cheap as some chargers, but then again, I want to make sure my 650 doesn't become damaged do to a poorly made charger.