iPhone 3G Disappointment
The iPhone 3G is very nice, but there are also some disappointments. Perhaps the biggest for me is that it won’t charge using the iPod interface in my Audi A3. Actually, it won’t charge in a lot of things (lots of cars and quite a few docks) because Apple decided to change the charging standard at the last minute.
It turns out that Apple dropped the Firewire charging circuit on the 3G model in favor of using a dedicated USB circuit. Any device that uses the Firewire pins to recharge an iPhone/iPod will not charge the iPhone 3G. Firewire charges with 12V while USB charges with only 5V. Most cars have 12V internal systems, so their iPod chargers use 12V because it’s incredibly convenient.
I haven’t bought my own iPhone 3G yet, but it now seems like I’ll have to wait until an adapter appears. Fixing this shouldn’t be too hard, and it sounds like the kind of thing Belkin will create and charge $30 to buy. Still very annoying.
Details here.
I was about to update my soup can phone, but I realized that since everything is so spread out here in NC that I’d need a longer adapter string.
So I guess I’m going to wait, also.