[flamand]

So I got this car charger for free when I bought a case on Ebay. It says that it has an "Intelligent IC Chip" inside. Googling this, it apparently shuts off when it senses the battery is fully charged.

Does anyone have an opinion whether this charger is safe to use? Is this related to why the Pre is picky about what cables and chargers work?

[BMIC50]

You didnt post a link to the charger, so how are we supposed to help you out?

If you search, you'll find the requirements to charge the Pre...which usually pertain to the output. It has to put out 1amp (I think its 1 amp).

[sacherjj#AC]

The IC is most likely a 5V specific or a variable regulator tuned to 5V. The 12-15V car electrical system must be stepped down to 5V expected by the Pre as a USB bus based charging system. This IC is doing that step down.

The intelligent chip most likely is sensing the current pulled through the chip. With the Pre in anything be sleep mode, I would expect the chip to never shut down, as the Pre will pull power from external sources before it draws from the battery.

So in otherwords, it is marketing mumbo jumbo.