Customer Reviews

MOBI 70081 Universal GPS Lighter Charger

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was looking for a GPS car charger after the one I had for my Mitac Mio P550 disintegrated (the rubber simply started peeling off) and was eventually discontinued. I purchased this one on Amazon.com for $10 and am very happy to have done so. First and foremost it works with my GPS unit. Secondly, it actually looks and feels more solid than the original one (but only time will tell if it really is) and was purchased for less than half the price. The specifications sheet indicates that it charges a 1100mAh extended battery in less than 2 hours and a 600mAh standard battery in less than 1 (I haven't tested that though). It also states that it has an "intelligent switching circuit" that will recognize a full battery and switch over into saver mode. This means that the plug will not overheat or overcharge a battery. The LED charging indicator isn't too bright and shouldn't distract you. The charger part fits snugly into our car's cigarette lighter socket and doesn't look like it may pop out or anything (this is important as we will be using it mostly in Africa on rough terrain). I feared that the cord itself may be slightly on the short side but it turned out to be just the right length to connect to a windshield mounted GPS unit on a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. All in all, a good purchase.

I bought this about two months ago. The product is slightly different from what is pictured, and in my opinion not as nice as the one in picture, but it did not really matter. Initially it seemed to work fine. Then one day, when I was out 70 miles away, and was ready to return, my GPS started to flicker and would not acquire signal. After a few minutes of waiting, the screen would go blank. I tried resetting it many times, and even tried rebooting a couple of times, but to no avail. Each time I unplug and plug the charger back in, the LEDs on the unit would come on for a few seconds and go off. The rebooting process would initiate but hang up in the middle and stay there for ever. I thought my GPS just died. I managed to get back home without my GPS. The next day I connected the unit to my PC using a regular USB cable and it worked just fine. I held it close to a window and it acquired signal and everything was as it should be. I took it back to my car, connected my GPS to the charger, and this time the LEDs didn't light up at all, leave alone flicker. I tried the other cigarette lighter port in the center console, no luck. Finally I tried it on my other car - nothing. I quickly disconnected and trashed the charger. May be mine was just a lemon, but I am glad I prevented my GPS from giving up on me. Got to find another one.

The end that inserts into the GPS Garmin fell apart after using only 5 times.

This product didn't even work. It worked for about 5 minutes the first time I tried it and that was it. Definitely a waste of money.

Use this only 2 times and while driving it disconnected from GPS system and a piece broke off.

The guy at the Big Box store told me I had to buy the charger sold by tom tom. Unfortunately, they were out of them. I came here and decided to try the universal one.
It works like a charm! I have no idea why the one that came with my gps just quit working, but it did. This replacement cost me considerably less than I would have paid for the real thing!

This was my 3rd charger, bought for my Garmin Nuvi at Radio Shack to replace a cheapo model that had lasted an even shorter time (metal contact thingie pulled out of rubber). A problem, although probably not why it failed, is that the piece that goes into the back of the nuvi is not angled 90 degrees which would allow nuvi to mount correctly into dashboard holder. Because I could not mount it, I charged nuvi in the house and used this thing when the battery was low during a trip and lay nuvi on the console during that time. It only lasted a few months and then the metal contact piece pulled out of the rubber grip (which also happened with the previous one, different brand, even though that one had the correct angle/orientation). This thing was not cheap--20 bucks--so not sure which brand to get next time.

Unfortunately, I didn't read the reviews before placing my order. My replacement cord worked for about six weeks but eventually the mini-USB connector started failing and then broke off in my Garmin. MediaMart's shipping was fast so no complaints there, but the cord isn't worth even the discounted price.

-Poor Quality however compare it to what you are paying for original stuff
The only thing that is making be rate this stuff poor is its mini-usb quality, the moment I hooked it to my GPS it loosened from its grip. This made me adjust the cable now and then to charge. Finally one day it died/broke.

My workaround
-I used one mini USB cable that came with my Camera and connected it to this one. It works better than the original.


However I must say that any GPS charger should not be more than 10$.

In the description it said this item was a charger for my Garmin GPS. When I plugged my Garmin into the charger, it was shown as being plugged into a computer and I couldn't use it. What is the point of getting a GPS charger if you can't use the GPS while charging? Before getting this item the GPS would stay charged for about 8 hrs, after only plugging my GPS into this product one time the battery will only last about 2 seconds before shutting off. DO NOT BUY THIS TO CHARGE A GARMIN.