Customer Reviews

Nokia AC-5U Compact Travel Charger

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

 

 

Travel chargers need to be small so they take up very little space in your luggage. This one is small. It is smaller than a Zippo(tm) lighter and about twice as thick.

The other criterion for a travel charger that is frequently overlooked is they ought to be fast. When you are stuck between flights, if you booked yourself properly, you don't have two hours to wait for your phone to recharge. The Nokia AC-5U has an output of 800 MAh. This is a huge improvement over the Nokia AC-3U which had an output of 350 MAh. The Nokia AC-3U was the previous compact travel charger that shipped with most Nokia devices 2006 - 2008. This 2¼ improvement in output means your phone can recharge that much more quickly.

As an added amenity there is a hook and loop band to control the cable that runs from the plug-in portion of the Nokia AC-5U to the device being charged. This was something that was sadly lacking from the Nokia AC-3U.

The Nokia AC-5U is part of a new familiy of Nokia chargers designed to use very little energy when idling in the wall socket. It consumes 10% of the energy the Nokia AC-3U consumes while sitting waiting for a device to charge. Both chargers are EnergyStar compliant.

The short answer is this: proceed with caution, and DO NOT buy from SF Planet, whatever you do! The details of why are in the long version:

I got this item after having great success with the "real thing" from Nokia for my (plum, 1st gen) N95. I had 3: the one that came with my phone (about 18 months in, it got a bad connection near where it plugs into the phone that was remedied by bending it in a specific spot) and the two I got soon thereafter as spares to always have one at home, in my suitcase, and at work (one I left somewhere on a trip, and the other, which went from office to bag and back and forth and eventually became my only charger, died after several dozen multi-city trips where it got shoved in and out of luggage, hotel walls, home UPSs etc for a year). THOSE worked beautifully, charging fast and keeping a solid, full charge. When my last one died, I had to first get a cheap off brand that as one might expect died in a hurry and didn't quite charge fully; as it was on a rapid road to death, I ordered this from SF Planet. The reason I mention the other 3 is that I've had this phone a LONG time and it's been through a huge nightmare whirlwind adventure and EVERY charger that's legit, from Nokia, was glorious, seriously awesome.

In not buying this FROM Nokia, money is potentially saved, but buying from SF Planet was an AWFUL decision, and this is why I'm hesitant about the "product" rating because um if you get crap sent you rate crap, right? All the sellers' prices are similar, ratings similar... I went for shipping time/close to me, and I got a piece of junk that does NOT match the authentic ones, making me think it is a FAKE. It was sent to me in a ziploc bag, warning sign number one... it wouldn't stay in the phone unlike every other one (even the cruddy off brand stayed in), definite warning sign number two. The back info on the real ones was etched/embossed in; on these, it's cheap tan-gold ink, warning 3. The top of the originals is the same as the sides, matte, and there are NO holes in it; the one SF Planet sent has a glossy top (sure, it says Nokia but it's not hard to do fakes--ask the Gucci/Louis Vuitton "authentic" sales guys on NYC's streets!) and there are cut-outs on the side where it plugs in, warning 4.

Warning 5 is the most crucial--the connection of the actual plug requires FORCE to get in and has to be braced in place with something firm pressing it in to charge at all. Naturally, since the wire is cheaper, the velcro stuff not like the Nokia stuff, either... well, it took very little time, 3 months to be exact, for it to die entirely. Now I'm back fussing over whether to dare do this again or not. I could just get one of those wall chargers and an extra battery and skip all this plug-into-the-phone mess entirely. I'm tempted... believe me, I'm verrry tempted.

Oh, and they refused to allow a return. Not working and not matching the real thing, they said contact Nokia?? Um what ? Contact Nokia when you sold me a fake? I did, though, contact Nokia, and the # that is on my part is one that has been reported by too many people. So yeah, I did put my one-against-many negative review, but with hundreds of sales every day, my review is buried, so at least I feel I should say "Not all AC-5Us are created equal."

It works. It has a very tiny footprint, very light weight, fits easily into your pocket --- a superior prodict.

I have used this to charge my Nokia 6263 flip phone for nearly two years and it has performed flawlessly.

I got this charger with a set of BH-503 Nokia Bluetooth Headphones -- the headphones are fine, but within 2 weeks the charger was toast. The prongs of the plugin pulled out in the socket and that was that.

Well, fine. But try to get a replacement for it? What a rigamarole! Nokia is a waste of your time.

Let me preface by saying that the Amazon vendor delivered as advertised and the following comments are directed more specifically at Nokia build quality. This is my second AC-5U adapter. It's quick to recharge my mobile for on the fly low battery situations and its small footprint is an engineering feat. What I've found flawed on the AC-5U is the point at which the cable meets the notched flexible over-mold at the wall plug end of the unit. The flexible over-mold is simply too hard in comparison to the soft thin cable that passes through it. Over time (6 months) the cable cover cracks and the copper wires become exposed. Eventually the copper wires break away from fatigue rendering the charger a danger then useless. Design cycles in the mobile phone industry have exceeded QC's ability to keep up with the flaws that appear outside a 6 month shelf life on a product that's expected to become extinct in less than one year. I'm hoping my first unit was an exceptional case.

This thing is lightweight, small (not bulky) and works great. I like the fact that it has velcro attached to wire so that you can wrap it (the wire) up after using. Good idea. Velcro is so sticky though that it seems to pull itself apart after so many uses.

Small, thin wire (nice and long, easy to wind up), compact & light for travelling, simply works well!

Works just fine. When I am not using it, I put a small sleeve of plastic tubing over the connector end to prevent the very-very small connector from getting bent or damaged.