Micro USB cables for low price - Monoprice!

Galtish · 09:26 PM

Hi,

Sorry in advance if this sounds like an ad, but I have no affiliation with Monoprice, just trying to help save fellow Pre fanatics some cash...

I have mostly USB mini cables and the Palm Pre uses USB micro, so I needed to pick up about 6 micro USB cables to accommodate file transferring / charging of the Palm Pre (one each in 2 cars, 1 @ work, a few @ home). I started looking around for some good deals on USB micro cables, and after I found pretty high prices online and in stores I luckily remembered that Monoprice has really good prices on tons of different kinds of cables. I ended up picking up 6 cables (2 @ 1.5 ft long, 2 @ 3 ft, and 2 @ 6 ft, for less than $15 including shipping.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/se...&keyword=micro

Sure, one of Sprint's ads claims that only official cables will work, but I'm pretty doubtful this is true and for less than $15 it's worth the gamble for me.

Hope this helps someone save some cash.

**Edit - many of us have had trouble with the standard micro USB cables from monoprice fitting and then charging (if the plastic is shaved down) the TouchStone dock, but apparently the gold plated ones might work as is: http://forums.precentral.net/showthr...=1#post1682477 Will update when confirmed.

**Edit #2 - report of the gold-plated micro USB cords working with the TouchStone dock, but requiring to be shaved down: http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...ml#post1705770

gabbott · 05/31/2009, 07:58 AM

Monoprice is awesome for cables. Great quality and low prices. I buy all my hdmi cables through them and had the same idea as the OP and have some extra micro usb cables on hand.

BMIC50 · 06/01/2009, 08:15 AM

Thanks for the info! I was definitely thinking about going a similiar route and ordering some cheaper cables for the car and work (for both me and my wife). I cant see paying $25-$35 for ONE supposedly standard cable!

Maybe we should ask one of those testers if a microUSB cable that isnt Sprint/Palm branded will work with the Pre.

PreInsiders · 06/01/2009, 01:19 PM

Yeah, I can't really see how or why they would or could alter an industry-standard USB connection. Sounds like some marketing BS to me. Anyone that has fooled around with a demo unit, can you confirm that a regular fuddy-duddy micoUSB cable will work with it? Would be great to prove Palm wrong haha

BMIC50 · 06/02/2009, 10:34 AM

I have asked the person (d94) who has posted a mini-review in the forums if they can test this, but he hasnt gotten back to me so I just might buy the Seidio ones from PreCentral Store and return them if there is a lack of functionality. I have a BUSY Saturday planned (graduations, parties, helping a friend move) so I need a car charger right off the bat! I have had great experiences with Seidio and they will probably do me right if file xfer or something doesnt work. I sure the charging will work just fine.

Galtish · 06/07/2009, 01:22 PM

Just to follow up, the cords I received from Monoprice function fine. Plugging them into the device works great to transfer data and to charge the Pre. I'm also using one in the car to charge the device, also works good. The usb port cover gets in the way a bit, but it's still workable.

It's probably not an issue with the cable, but I'm not able to get the PC to read the Pre's drive properly when I put it into mass storage mode when I plug it into the USB ports on my Dell monitor (the monitor has a built in USB hub), but it works fine when I plug it into the USB ports on the PC or my laptop directly.

The only bummer is that the plastic around the head of the "micro" side of the usb cable is a bit too big to fit into the slot in the TouchStone charger. I'm going to try filing the plastic on the cable down a bit to see if I can get it to work, I don't think that's going to be a show stopper.

jhoff80 · 06/07/2009, 01:23 PM

Yeah, I think I'm going to pick one up not for charging, but for syncing media to the Pre, so I don't have to keep stealing the wire from the Touchstone. (I really wish it came with it's own for the price we pay for it.)

jonathan likes the pre · 06/07/2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhoff80

Yeah, I think I'm going to pick one up not for charging, but for syncing media to the Pre, so I don't have to keep stealing the wire from the Touchstone. (I really wish it came with it's own for the price we pay for it.)

My situation too. They should have thrown another wire in there :/

Galtish · 06/07/2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhoff80

Yeah, I think I'm going to pick one up not for charging, but for syncing media to the Pre, so I don't have to keep stealing the wire from the Touchstone. (I really wish it came with it's own for the price we pay for it.)

The TS is cool, but it should have a little slot to charge a 2nd battery (I'll bet we see a TS v2 with a spare battery slot when Palm releases a 2nd battery) and it should facilitate a secure wifi/bluetooth sync with your local PC so you don't have plug it in for file transfer.

rumz · 06/07/2009, 01:33 PM

Which cables did you buy? there's 2 types there-- the ones that say USB 2.0 are cheaper, for some reason. What's the difference?

gabbott · 06/07/2009, 01:36 PM

I bought a couple of these:

For only $1.69 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 6 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable | USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type

They work fine for file transfers to my pre and charging the pre from my pc.

rumz · 06/07/2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabbott

I bought a couple of these:

For only $1.69 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 6 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable | USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type

They work fine for file transfers to my pre and charging the pre from my pc.

Cool-- so they are USB 2.0 / you have no issues with slow transfers, correct?

gabbott · 06/07/2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumz

Cool-- so they are USB 2.0 / you have no issues with slow transfers, correct?

No issues with transfer speeds

Galtish · 06/07/2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumz

Which cables did you buy? there's 2 types there-- the ones that say USB 2.0 are cheaper, for some reason. What's the difference?

I bought these:
3ft - For only $1.43 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 3 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable | USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type

6ft - For only $1.69 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 6 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable | USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type

1.5 ft - For only $1.23 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 1.5 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable | USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type

Again, these work fine except the heads don't fit into the TouchStone USB slot. Will report back on success/failure of filing the plastic bit down to make them fit.

tommyt26 · 06/07/2009, 02:01 PM

I also purchased two of the 3' micro USB cables from Monoprice. They work fine for charging and transferring data. Delivery was fast - just 3 days.

nightmare · 06/07/2009, 03:36 PM

I need to order a few extra cables for my desk at work. This will do just fine.

Galtish · 06/07/2009, 09:20 PM

Um, some bad news. I sized down the Monoprice cable and got it to fit in the dock. Tried to fire it up and the Pre kept showing the charging icon flashing on and off and making the ding-dong sound. The cable still works fine for charging and syncing the Pre if plugged into a PC, it's only the dock that it won't work with.

Now, I'd say it seems like Palm is locking 3rd party cables out from working with the dock except the person at the sprint store hooked me up with a random micro USB cable that they had because I bought a 2nd TouchStone dock and asked about a cable for it. This cable works perfectly with the dock (fits without modifying). It is a Samsung branded "Data Link" cable, model # APCBU10BBE. It's only 4 feet long, I'm not sure that's going to be long enough for my situation at work. The Palm one is $20 and it's 5 feet, I'd hate to have to part with that kind of cash for a simple USB cable... Is it time for a "What micro USB cables work with the dock?" thread?

gabbott · 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galtish

Um, some bad news. I sized down the Monoprice cable and got it to fit in the dock. Tried to fire it up and the Pre kept showing the charging icon flashing on and off and making the ding-dong sound. The cable still works fine for charging and syncing the Pre if plugged into a PC, it's only the dock that it won't work with.

Now, I'd say it seems like Palm is locking 3rd party cables out from working with the dock except the person at the sprint store hooked me up with a random micro USB cable that they had because I bought a 2nd TouchStone dock and asked about a cable for it. This cable works perfectly with the dock (fits without modifying). It is a Samsung branded "Data Link" cable, model # APCBU10BBE. It's only 4 feet long, I'm not sure that's going to be long enough for my situation at work. The Palm one is $20 and it's 5 feet, I'd hate to have to part with that kind of cash for a simple USB cable... Is it time for a "What micro USB cables work with the dock?" thread?

So this really makes users that want more than one touchstone charger to have to spend quite a bit. You would think if the usb cable used on the touchstone charger is very specific they would just have one come with the touchstone charger, it is not like you aren't paying enough already for the charger.

Galtish · 06/07/2009, 09:36 PM

Yeah, really the 2nd one is going to cost you $80 instead of $70 because they sell an $80 TS bundle with a cable and AC adapter.

Ugg...

scuba_steve · 06/07/2009, 10:19 PM

Great find. What a price. Too bad about them not fitting the TS, but for a dollar apiece, how can you go wrong? I picked up six for our three Pres...and also bought three of these:

http://store.treocentral.com/seidio-.../5A17A4069.htm

Also doesn't look like it fits the TS...but I suppose that we will just stick with the stock adapters for our three TSes. Disappointing that Palm recessed that jack so far.

05/30/2009, 10:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
Galtish Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 163 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 39 Thanked 42 Times in 15 Posts	Micro USB cables for low price - Monoprice! Hi, Sorry in advance if this sounds like an ad, but I have no affiliation with Monoprice, just trying to help save fellow Pre fanatics some cash... I have mostly USB mini cables and the Palm Pre uses USB micro, so I needed to pick up about 6 micro USB cables to accommodate file transferring / charging of the Palm Pre (one each in 2 cars, 1 @ work, a few @ home). I started looking around for some good deals on USB micro cables, and after I found pretty high prices online and in stores I luckily remembered that Monoprice has really good prices on tons of different kinds of cables. I ended up picking up 6 cables (2 @ 1.5 ft long, 2 @ 3 ft, and 2 @ 6 ft, for less than $15 including shipping. http://www.monoprice.com/products/se...&keyword=micro Sure, one of Sprint's ads claims that only official cables will work, but I'm pretty doubtful this is true and for less than $15 it's worth the gamble for me. Hope this helps someone save some cash. Edit - many of us have had trouble with the standard micro USB cables from monoprice fitting and then charging (if the plastic is shaved down) the TouchStone dock, but apparently the gold plated ones might work as is: http://forums.precentral.net/showthr...=1#post1682477 Will update when confirmed. Edit #2 - report of the gold-plated micro USB cords working with the TouchStone dock, but requiring to be shaved down: http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...ml#post1705770 Last edited by Galtish; 06/23/2009 at 09:26 PM.
	Liked by Thanked by clipcarl, gk1118, jf1081, jonathan likes the pre, MicahDG, Milominderbinder, MLJones8, nitussi, poopsie, Rkolodz1, Shadowhawk, sjones302, sushi, syphex, tommyt26, vizi

05/31/2009, 07:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
gabbott Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 986 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 72 Thanked 124 Times in 86 Posts	Monoprice is awesome for cables. Great quality and low prices. I buy all my hdmi cables through them and had the same idea as the OP and have some extra micro usb cables on hand.
	Liked by

06/01/2009, 08:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
BMIC50 Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boo-val,FL Posts: 2,545 Likes Received: 130 Thanks: 176 Thanked 161 Times in 129 Posts	Thanks for the info! I was definitely thinking about going a similiar route and ordering some cheaper cables for the car and work (for both me and my wife). I cant see paying $25-$35 for ONE supposedly standard cable! Maybe we should ask one of those testers if a microUSB cable that isnt Sprint/Palm branded will work with the Pre.
	Liked by

06/01/2009, 01:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
PreInsiders Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Californ-I-A Posts: 73 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 10 Thanked 29 Times in 14 Posts	Yeah, I can't really see how or why they would or could alter an industry-standard USB connection. Sounds like some marketing BS to me. Anyone that has fooled around with a demo unit, can you confirm that a regular fuddy-duddy micoUSB cable will work with it? Would be great to prove Palm wrong haha
	Liked by

06/02/2009, 10:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
BMIC50 Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boo-val,FL Posts: 2,545 Likes Received: 130 Thanks: 176 Thanked 161 Times in 129 Posts	I have asked the person (d94) who has posted a mini-review in the forums if they can test this, but he hasnt gotten back to me so I just might buy the Seidio ones from PreCentral Store and return them if there is a lack of functionality. I have a BUSY Saturday planned (graduations, parties, helping a friend move) so I need a car charger right off the bat! I have had great experiences with Seidio and they will probably do me right if file xfer or something doesnt work. I sure the charging will work just fine.
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 01:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
Galtish Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 163 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 39 Thanked 42 Times in 15 Posts	Just to follow up, the cords I received from Monoprice function fine. Plugging them into the device works great to transfer data and to charge the Pre. I'm also using one in the car to charge the device, also works good. The usb port cover gets in the way a bit, but it's still workable. It's probably not an issue with the cable, but I'm not able to get the PC to read the Pre's drive properly when I put it into mass storage mode when I plug it into the USB ports on my Dell monitor (the monitor has a built in USB hub), but it works fine when I plug it into the USB ports on the PC or my laptop directly. The only bummer is that the plastic around the head of the "micro" side of the usb cable is a bit too big to fit into the slot in the TouchStone charger. I'm going to try filing the plastic on the cable down a bit to see if I can get it to work, I don't think that's going to be a show stopper.
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 01:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
jhoff80 Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Boston-area Posts: 6,973 Likes Received: 116 Thanks: 418 Thanked 1,252 Times in 710 Posts	Yeah, I think I'm going to pick one up not for charging, but for syncing media to the Pre, so I don't have to keep stealing the wire from the Touchstone. (I really wish it came with it's own for the price we pay for it.)
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 01:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
rumz Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 217 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 5 Thanked 15 Times in 10 Posts	Which cables did you buy? there's 2 types there-- the ones that say USB 2.0 are cheaper, for some reason. What's the difference?
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 01:36 PM	#11 (permalink)
gabbott Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 986 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 72 Thanked 124 Times in 86 Posts	I bought a couple of these: For only $1.69 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 6 ft USB A/male to Micro USB 5 pin male Cable \| USB 2.0 Cable - Micro-B Type They work fine for file transfers to my pre and charging the pre from my pc.
	Liked by Thanked By: DNic

06/07/2009, 02:01 PM	#15 (permalink)
tommyt26 Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Manchester, NH Posts: 64 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 69 Times in 8 Posts	I also purchased two of the 3' micro USB cables from Monoprice. They work fine for charging and transferring data. Delivery was fast - just 3 days.
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 03:36 PM	#16 (permalink)
nightmare Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Southeast MI Posts: 67 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 18 Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts	I need to order a few extra cables for my desk at work. This will do just fine.
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 09:20 PM	#17 (permalink)
Galtish Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 163 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 39 Thanked 42 Times in 15 Posts	Um, some bad news. I sized down the Monoprice cable and got it to fit in the dock. Tried to fire it up and the Pre kept showing the charging icon flashing on and off and making the ding-dong sound. The cable still works fine for charging and syncing the Pre if plugged into a PC, it's only the dock that it won't work with. Now, I'd say it seems like Palm is locking 3rd party cables out from working with the dock except the person at the sprint store hooked me up with a random micro USB cable that they had because I bought a 2nd TouchStone dock and asked about a cable for it. This cable works perfectly with the dock (fits without modifying). It is a Samsung branded "Data Link" cable, model # APCBU10BBE. It's only 4 feet long, I'm not sure that's going to be long enough for my situation at work. The Palm one is $20 and it's 5 feet, I'd hate to have to part with that kind of cash for a simple USB cable... Is it time for a "What micro USB cables work with the dock?" thread?
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 09:36 PM	#19 (permalink)
Galtish Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 163 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 39 Thanked 42 Times in 15 Posts	Yeah, really the 2nd one is going to cost you $80 instead of $70 because they sell an $80 TS bundle with a cable and AC adapter. Ugg...
	Liked by

06/07/2009, 10:19 PM	#20 (permalink)
scuba_steve Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 635 Likes Received: 19 Thanks: 63 Thanked 212 Times in 110 Posts	Great find. What a price. Too bad about them not fitting the TS, but for a dollar apiece, how can you go wrong? I picked up six for our three Pres...and also bought three of these: http://store.treocentral.com/seidio-.../5A17A4069.htm Also doesn't look like it fits the TS...but I suppose that we will just stick with the stock adapters for our three TSes. Disappointing that Palm recessed that jack so far. __________________ IIIx -> Tungsten T -> Treo 650 -> Treo 700p -> Launch day Pre
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