On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:33:36 -0000, Pat Cheney wrote:

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:47:06 -0800, SMS wrote:

They said it was "usb" but they never said it was "proprietary USB".
Does anyone know WHY they didn't say that additional word?

For the same reason that reviews of cell phones don't mention the type
of charging connector. The review sites don't understand that it's a
feature of concern to some buyers. Actually when I buy a cell phone
these days, I won't buy one that uses a proprietary power connector, but
you can't find that information out easily without looking at the phone.

You're so right!

I never buy a cell phone without finding out first if it's mini-usb or not.
Same with headphones and gps navigation units.

One problem I've found with cellphones is Motorola. For some reason,
Motorola USB is "special" USB.

I've found that Motorola chargers work fine with all other phones but
Motorola phones don't work well with the other chargers. But I found a
solution that works so that a single charger charges all my electronics.

This happened with my Blackberry 8700 two years ago and again with my new
Blackberry 9000 this year.

The solution was to buy from a large department store a 550 ma Motorola
mini-usb charger and then to turn around a day later and return it. But, in
the box I put the brand-new 750ma Blackberry mini-USB charger instead of
the Motorola charger.

I would hope EVERYONE would do this. When Motorola gets thousands of
Blackberry or Garmin mini-usb chargers, they'll figure out their error.

Luckily, for the past two years, I've had no problems using the Motorola
charger in all my portable electronics appliances so it's just the Motorola
phone (RAZR) that is the culprit.

I never use the software on my cameras. I take the memory card out and stick it in a universal card reader. Same can apply to phones.


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