Hard Core Cell Phone Junkie? Psycho Soccer Mom? Stay Charged With Belkin’s Mobile Power Cord
Written: May 02 '04 (Updated Sep 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Works with a number of phones, provides unlimited talk time.
Cons: None so far ….
The Bottom Line: Need a reliable mobile charger for your cellular phone? This is a third of the price of most name brand models and does the same exact thing.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Belkin Mobile Power Cord For Samsung 240/4008460 F... |
I am constantly amazed at the things that men will buy when they are left alone in a store with a wad of cash and their credit cards. Chris has two cellular phones [including that nifty Nokia N-Gage]; one for personal use and one for work. A few weeks ago he came strolling in the door and promptly tripped over his own two feet; no, he isn’t clumsy but rather he was playing around with his new mobile phone that he picked up at the mall. Acting like he was under the glaring light of an intense interrogation session he muttered, stammered and broke out in to a cold sweat as he tried to justify his latest gadget purchase. “It was free, well, after the mail in rebate, and look”, shoving it in my face, “it has one of those cool thingies that takes pictures and look”, shoving it in my face again, “we can text message each other all the time now”. These weren’t new features and he had them on his other phone but this one was smaller, had a larger screen and lets not forget that mail in rebate. It came with almost everything he would ever need to be truly mobile however two of the essentials that were thrown in as perks to sweeten the deal – items tossed at him when he told them that he’d get skinned alive if he came home with another phone – well, they were pretty crappy and wouldn’t last a week. The hands free headset and mobile power cord definitely needed to be replaced / upgraded and I knew if I left it up to him he’d come home with some overpriced piece of junk that was – if possible – worse than what the salesmen added to the package originally.
Belkin Mobile Power Cord E Series
If you do any type of traveling, commute to work or are one of those people that have to be on the phone at all times – a mobile power charger is a necessity. Finding one that works properly with your phone is key to not burning it out, draining your battery or frying the electronics of the phone. I stopped by Best Buy to see what they had and the less than helpful staff passed me around from clerk to clerk until I loudly declared that the store sucked and I was going to Circuit City. My money is green and my credit card is gold … and both spend anywhere. Circuit City didn’t have an adequate mobile charger so I headed to Target – in hindsight I should have listened to my instincts and went there first. They had the best price - $8.99 and I knew that if there were any issues with it within the first sixty days I could return it there for an even exchange. This is on top of the five year warranty that Belkin provides, pretty impressive for a small ticket item. After checking the model of the phone and the information on the package and determining that it was indeed the right one I asked the clerk to double check it – remember – I do have that little electronics curse that follows me. I was further reassured that if it didn’t work I could return it for an exchange for one that was compatible. Two points for Target!
Using it is about as simple as it gets. Plug it in to your automobiles cigarette lighter port then in to your phone and you are set. Remember to only use this after you have started your vehicle and to unplug it when you turn off your engine. While there’s no solid proof that leaving this plugged in to your cigarette lighter at all times will harm your battery or impact your vehicles performance, do you really want to take a chance that it will screw up your car? I have used several of these types of mobile chargers in the past without any major occurrences but I always took care to remove the coupler from the deck when I was done with the phone. The base of the chargers slides into the lighter port easily and doesn’t wobble around once it is placed there – which is a good thing. There’s nothing more annoying than hearing the thing jiggle around for hours on end knowing that there isn’t a damn ting you can do about it.
Compatibility
This power cord will work with the following mobile units: Samsung SPH-A460, SPH-A500, SPH-A520, SPH-A530, SPH-A540, SPH-A570, SPH-600, SPH-N400. I am sure that there are other models that this will work with but this is what is listed on the back of the package. If you have any concerns about which power cord is right for your cellular phone, contact your authorized dealer. Chances are they will try to sell you one of their own models at a higher price but tell them that you want the Belkin model. If they pressure you into a hard sales pitch the best way to cut them off at the pass is to tell them that it is a third of the price and comes with a five year warrant. If they want to give it to you for that price and with that warranty you’d be happy to do business with them … otherwise ask them to give you the necessary information or contact Belkin directly [310-898-1100] for more help.
Warranty
The biggest perk of this product is that it comes with a five year warranty against defects in workmanship and material. If something goes amiss within that time just contact Belkin to receive a free replacement. The unit is extremely sturdy and I am sure that it will hold up to a lot of use but it is nice to know that there is a five year time frame. More than likely we’ll end up with a new phone before this needs to be replaced and at the price of $8.99 you have to wonder if it would be feasible to send the power cord back to them for a replacement or to just go out and buy a new one. The warranty is pretty much standard with all the Belkin power cords for mobile phones so if you need to purchase one that costs more, at least you know that if something goes wrong help is available.
The Bottom Line
To me there’s no sense paying more for something when there is a perfectly good substitute that will get the job done – of course there are a few things that I won’t skimp on but come on, it’s a freakin’ power cord for a mobile phone. Chris has used this off and on for the past few weeks and has no complaints about it and trust me, he spends a lot of time on the phone when he is driving back and forth from work and to Los Angeles. So far this has been a great mobile power “charger” and allows him to have a fully powered phone if it is ever needed. The only real concern I had about it was the smell that it emitted when it was first in use but after a few days it disappeared so I chalked it up to
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2004 Freak369
Related reviews ….
• Kyocera 1135 • Kyocera 2135 •
• Motorola LS350 • Motorola LS550 •
• Nokia N Gage •
Recommended:
Yes
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