Ridax first company to overprice iPhone 3G charging adapter

Although the 30-pin Dock connector in the iPhone 3G looks the same as it has since it was introduced in the 2G iPod, it's different in one important (and maddening) way -- it doesn't support charging the older FireWire charging pins, only the newer USB method. That means a whole host of older chargers and docks don't work with the iPhone 3G -- and it also means that we'll be seeing a lot of adapters like this one from Ridax make the scene. Hopefully other manufacturers won't see fit to charge a whopping $40 for two connectors and a resistor like Ridax, but if you're desperate enough to drop two Jacksons on this thing, you'll also be able to charge through the built-in mini-USB connector on the side. We'll wait, though -- we expect to see some cheaper, smaller options on the table by the time this thing ships in September.

[jason @ Jul 30th 2008 9:43PM]

"to Jacksons"

LOL, what is up with Engadget's spelling lately? Budget cuts made it hard to proof-read?

But seriously, these are WAY overpriced.

[Metkis @ Jul 30th 2008 9:49PM]

said the to actress the bishop...

[Mustaine @ Jul 31st 2008 6:34AM]

...or 4 Hamiltons! woooarrr ey? wink-wink nudge-nudge!

[Ryan @ Jul 30th 2008 9:54PM]

This doesn't matter at all. I ran into this problem (Apple slowly dropping support for the firewire cables) since early after I got an iPod 4G. And since then I've gotten a new iPod. I don't think many people still use those old chargers.

[Mike M @ Jul 30th 2008 10:11PM]

Unless you just bought a new cat with the 250+ ipod connection and it can't charge your iphone. Been reading that a lot of car connections use the firewire charging.

[d @ Jul 30th 2008 10:31PM]

Oh yeah? my cat has 300+ iPod connection. And, his meow doubles as an iPod speaker :-)

[someone @ Jul 30th 2008 11:09PM]

My cat died, so I got a new USB based one.

[Apreche @ Jul 30th 2008 9:57PM]

This is way overprice, no doubt. However, I need this, desperately. I'm not even joking.

[JOSE @ Jul 30th 2008 10:06PM]

u can always pick up a duracell battery pack that uses AA batteries to charge the iphone and if u already have rechargable batteries your even better off

[Zadillo @ Jul 30th 2008 10:30PM]

Something like this will be useful especially for people with iPod dock connectors for their car head units. I've got an older Alpine head unit with a dock connector, for example, and it still works fine for playing music, but no longer charges. So something like this which acts as a passthrough is a necessity (something like you recommended wouldn't do the trick because it doesn't have a pass through, allowing for charging and playing music through the head unit's dock connector).

[Ian @ Jul 31st 2008 4:16AM]

yes because it is soooooo efficient to charge batteries then that then go to charge another battery. stuff like that should only be used in an emergency, or when you don't want to hear people bitching at you..

[Lancelot @ Jul 30th 2008 10:07PM]

anyone who buys one of these should be shot - I hate it when companies attempt to take advantage of people in such a manner - hopefully they won't sell even one of these but it does appear that most of the 3G iPhone buyers aren't concerned with getting full value for their dollar.

[Soap @ Jul 30th 2008 10:10PM]

Heaven forbid someone making adapters by hand charges what they feel like charging. It isn't like you couldn't order the parts yourself (from Ridex) for a couple of Washingtons if the price offends you.

[d @ Jul 30th 2008 10:38PM]

well, I'm sorry I lose to you in the geek competition. Some of us don't possess the amazing technical skill, no, superpower that you do.

[GreezyG @ Jul 30th 2008 10:21PM]

I leave my old firewire charger at work to keep my iPhone charged. Im, hopefully, picking up a 3G this weekend. I guess It's time to trash the old charger.

[Jeff @ Jul 30th 2008 10:23PM]

hopefully the cheaper ones aren't as ugly as the cheaper cables out there.

[Vernon de Thierry @ Jul 30th 2008 10:49PM]

It's hardly surprising:

Apple = overpriced

Dont get me wrong - nice products and all, but as soon as you take the path of proprietary based peripherals you are certainly looking to corner the market. Which they have done with precision and grace - (all the while fleecing the customers along the way)

[farfisa @ Jul 31st 2008 12:51AM]

The headline should read :
Ridax first "third party" to overprice iPhone 3G charging adapter.

[Kizorblade @ Jul 31st 2008 3:08AM]

Ridax != Apple

[guidedbyvoip @ Jul 30th 2008 10:54PM]

I have a usb car charger ($10) that I've used for my iPod and now iPhone. I do pity the auto owners with built-in iPod/iPhone support....thats not supported anymore. Oops, sahwee we brokes it.

[BigD145 @ Jul 30th 2008 10:59PM]

This is just as bad as $25 wall wart adapters.

[Mile @ Jul 30th 2008 11:02PM]

Don't worry. 1 month after you buy it, they'll lower the price to $25 and offer you a $5 gift certificate.

[TEG @ Jul 31st 2008 12:02AM]

The Dock Connector was introduced with the iPod 3G not the 2G.
The 3G doesn't support charging over USB, but all other models do.

TEG

[Buschaga @ Jul 31st 2008 8:11AM]

TEG is exactly right and Engadget should update the article for accuracy.

The 2G iPod looked exactly like the 1G but was 10% thinner and traded the mechanical scroll wheel for a trackpad-like one. It still used the full-size FireWire connector on top for charging and syncing.

The 3G iPod, with the four touch-sensitive buttons above the scroll wheel, was the first model to incorporate the 30-pin dock connector.

[BeniRose @ Jul 31st 2008 10:34AM]

Engadget does NOT update articles for accuracy. Never forget it!!

[Rohan @ Jul 31st 2008 12:20AM]

I'm not sure I understand the utility of this:

Apple gives you a cable for charging via USB

[Nishanth @ Jul 31st 2008 4:17AM]

The new iphone dropped support for charging via firewire, so many devices (such as my Honda's ipod adapter) are unable to charge the device.

[mcdj @ Jul 31st 2008 12:22AM]

Wait, I thought Ridex made that shampoo that gets rid of crabs.

[Matt @ Jul 31st 2008 12:26AM]

I made my own out of some old chicken wire and a box of corn flakes- not sure what the big deal is.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jul 31st 2008 1:16AM]

Actually I'm pretty sure the dock connector was introduced on the 3rd Gen iPod). The 2G looked exactly like the 1G, just without the spinning wheel.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jul 31st 2008 1:23AM]

Wow, I managed to miss TEG's post on my first read-thru.

Interesting to know that the 3G iPod does not support USB charging. I know my 4G came with a firewire cable but my 2G nano doesn't support the FW cable.

[w00t @ Jul 31st 2008 4:28AM]

Pfft, for that price you could buy two spare 5v chargers that'll work just fine, one for home and one for car!

Or, if you wanted something small to carry about in case you need an emergency charge get one of those booster batteries that plugs into the dock port! That would work anywhere for the same price!

What a worthless product!

[w00t @ Jul 31st 2008 4:39AM]

Oh, and if anyone is wondering why a lot of car chargers aren't working, they use the firewire pins because your car battery supplies a voltage within firewire specification (12v in this case) so it's cheaper to use that directly rather than step it down.

The iPhone 3G only charges over USB (5v) so if I'm not mistaken this is the only device with an iPod dock connector so far that'll not charge with the firewire pins.

There's no need to worry about damaging it by giving it too much voltage though, firewire power (8v to 30v) would go to pins 19 & 20 on the dock connector where as USB power should always be 5v and goes to pin 23.
Pins 19 & 20 are not connected on the iPhone 3G.

[Joel @ Jul 31st 2008 9:59AM]

I don't think the problem is as much the chargers as it is the integrated car kits. For the kits you don't simply unplug it, throw it away, and get a new one. Compared to the price of the car kit $40 is rather affordable.

[AMc @ Jul 31st 2008 8:34AM]

I just checked and out of 3 docks (2x3rd party and 1 Apple) none work for charging yesterday's purchase a 3G iPhone.
Thankfully the Apple dock that came with the 3G does work with the UK USB power adapter that came with the phone so switching the back end means I have one simple drop in charger/line out solution.

I guess I'll be looking for 2+ cheap firewire>USB dock convertors or two new docks :(

Now to see what two different generation Alpine head units make of it...

Thanks a bunch Apple, break the video out with the Classic line and now charging with the 3G iPhone - what's next changing the audio out pins just for the heck of it?

[akatsuki @ Jul 31st 2008 10:33AM]

If this doesn't have a regulator for voltage, then you won't get consistent voltage if you are using it with a car adapter for example.

More importantly, why didn't they make this universal dock compatible so that it just mounts in there and has some support?

[kaykhanittha @ Jul 31st 2008 11:50AM]

Are they crazy ?
http://www.iphone-3g-mobile.com/APPLE-IPHONE/WHERE-TO-BUY-THE-MOST-EXPENSIVE-IPHONE-3G-CHARGER-FROM-RIDAX

[Chris @ Jul 31st 2008 11:56AM]

$40 bucks is nothing. My $1,600 Pioneer head unit doesn't charge my iPhone 3G but it did charge my original iPhone. I'd gladly pay $40 bucks to get that feature back, especially since my battery doesn't last as long anymore.

Just for the record, I agree that $40 is steep for what it does. I will end up waiting to see what others come out with that is cheaper.

[Mark @ Jul 31st 2008 12:08PM]

I think you underestimate what's inside. It probably has a linear regulator and a few resistors and caps. Sure the margin is ridiculous, but most people couldn't build it themselves -- which seems to be what you're implying.

Anyway, all of the iphone/ipod accessories are really overpriced. The "dock adapter" for iphone is $10 and it's just a curved, .5oz piece of plastic!

All of these accessories are high margin because the product itself is high margin, and they know that those customers will pay that premium.

[Mike @ Jul 31st 2008 2:14PM]

It has a switching dc/dc converter, which is even more components than the linear regulator that you suggest. A linear regulator would waste more than 50% of the power into heat, so the original charger might still not be able to supply enough power if it had used a linear regulator. So it contains even more electronics than many car chargers that you are comparing with.

It is good that there are so skilled people writing for engadget that think a simple resistor would do the trick.

[rodsky @ Jul 31st 2008 12:46PM]

syncing and now this, more apple bullshit

[Michael Ducker @ Jul 31st 2008 1:54PM]

Hey - be nice to them! It'll take two resistors to drop the voltage, not one!

(If you only used one, the voltage drop across the resistor would be dependant on the current the iphone is drawing - instead, you have to use a voltage divider, which consists of two resistors, which will always give you a set percentage of the input voltage.)

The battery charging IC inside the 3G is specifically designed to charge from USB, and therefore only spec'ed to input 5 +/- 1 volts, so it can't handle the 12V input from the firewire pins from before. Why Apple couldn't include the two tiny resistors onboard themselves - that's another question entirely.

[Mike @ Jul 31st 2008 2:38PM]

Please tell me how you are going to make a voltage regulation out of even 2 resistors. At least you seem to be more skilled than the author at engadget, but still, 2 resistors won't make it. If you ONLY have two resistors in a circuit with constant voltage, it will work as a voltage divider, as you have planned. But then, connect a device over one of the resistors that draw variable power (=variable resistance) and make a equivalent resistor scheme, and you will see that you have 1 fixed resistor value in series with a variable resistor value. This wouldn't make a nice fixed voltage divider (and besides dissipate more than halv of the power into the resistors and require that the charger powers more than it might be capable of).

[ScottishDan @ Jul 31st 2008 8:53PM]

Right, so I'm replacing the dock-2-usb charging cable with an adapter that allows me to charge by usb? wow

[justit @ Aug 1st 2008 10:02AM]

$40 seems to be their price point. Their ipod touch mics are the same price.

[Mike @ Aug 2nd 2008 11:35AM]

Another ie of an overpriced ridiculous products for Apple.

[Scott Gardner @ Aug 6th 2008 12:48AM]

So, do you *need* to use the mini-USB port on the side of the adapter to charge the 3G iPhone, or is that just another option?

I have a car iPod interface kit that works fine with my iPhone except that it doesn't charge it. Would I just be able to plug this adapter inline between my car's dock connector and my iPhone, with no additional connections?

[mjkrooker @ Aug 6th 2008 12:59AM]

The iPhone 3G Charge Converter will also be available from US-based CableJive.com:

http://cablejive.com/iphone_3g_charge_converter.html

[cromas @ Oct 18th 2008 3:53PM]

I just got my ridax adapter in the mail yesterday. It's a total ripoff at $40 + shipping, but it works exactly as it should. Gets a tad bit warm to the touch, but that's understandable for a -7V voltage drop. Finally my phone can stay charged in the car again =)

And FYI, I'm using it with the Peripheral Electronics ipod/car adapter kit and a 2002 Toyota Camry.