Hi,

What good is a mains socket with USB charger such as the one pictured below? Is the smart stuff tailored to each battery chemistry inside the phone/gadget or could it also be inside the charger that comes with it? From what I hear improper charging of lithium ion batteries can burn your house down. Are there other important considerations to a product like this?

Thanks

P.s.: The webstore is light on specifications and only mentions "including USB charger".

 

A USB socket is not a battery charger. It is a fixed 5V power supply. The electronics to charge the battery in a cell phone is built into the cell phone. there is no more danger using this USB charger than there is using any other one.

Bob

 

It's actually a pretty smart idea. It will save you a lot of wall-warts, as most gadgets and phones are converging on USB operation/charging.
Like Bob said, it's a 5 V outlet. Only question is, which USB standard does it conform to, this has an influence on the maximum current that can be drawn.

Benta.

 

Thanks for confirming.

Only question is, which USB standard does it conform to, this has an influence on the maximum current that can be drawn.

Pretty much all the wall warts that I have are 500 mA which is probably good enough for the devices that they came with. But anyway it's a good idea to check the USB standard that it conforms to.