Seidio 1300mAh Battery & 4300 Car Kit

[tommc4]

Well, I have to be the bearer of bad news about these two products. They are horrible. Let me tell you about each.

The Seidio extended battery (1300mAh) for my 680 has never given me more than 1 hr talk and barely makes it through an 8 hr day on standby. When I first received the battery, I charged it completely, just as I did the Palm batteries. I get a huge amount of life out of the Palm branded batteries, and now the Seidio just sits there. As far as I can see, it is totally worthless.

I was elated to see a "car kit" for the 680, and ordered the 4300. All I needed was a charging holder for the phone. Now, car kits come with mounting plates, brackets, etc, as well as a cord to wire into the vehicle's electrical system. (I have been installing mobile equipment since 1972, I *THINK* I know what I am doing...):D

Well, professional car kits do. Not the Seidio! The plastic plate is so poorly made that it cannot be tightened down using lock washers or lock nuts withut splitting. In fact on one side of the screw holes, there is virtually NO plastic, and when you tighten the mounting screws down, the head of the screw (which you have to provide) pops through the plastic. In other words, you can't have a secure mounting plate.

The power cord for a car kit is normally a two or three conductor straight cable made to tie into the vehicle's electrical system. In the case of Seidio, they give you - get this - a cigarette lighter adaptor. Of course, it is not a standard plug, and they don't tell you the voltage. I called tech support at seidio, one tech said it was 12VDC, another said it was 5VDC. Well, I got out my trusty multimeter to check it out. The point is, ...a cigarette lighter adaptor? (FYI, it is 12VDC)

Right now, I am awaiting a call from their manager to get a properly designed plate, one that will at least hold a screw down.

So far, I have to say a big ZILCH on Seidio products...right now I am 0 for 2 and that is not how I like spending my money. I guess I should have bought the Palm car kit. I just don't need a speakerphone. And I really don't want to spend $199

I am sure many of you have had great success with their products, but the company's lack of response, and shoddy product quality leaves me wondering.

I will keep you posted on here as to what they ultimately do.
Tom

[LostViking]

I've also heard about problems with the Seidio plates being cheap. I'm wondering about the battery issue though. Have you gone through at least 3 full charge, discharge then charge cycles. Many rechargable batteries are NOT formed at the factory. You have to do it yourself or there isn't full capacity. Try it.

The cigarette lighter adapter is the current way of connecting a hands free setup. It is better because you don't have to wire into the car. Sorry, but that's old school. The adapter has the voltage regulation circuits inside to provide proper voltage to the phone from the source. In this case 12VDC.

Most new cars have a power port (extra lighter) just for this. That's why it (kit) came with one. I would never have someone wire into my car to power a cellphone. I wouldn't even do it myself because there's just no reason to do so. I have 30 years of component level repair experience. I COULD do it, easily. I can't see a single reason to do so. If you insist, then take the body of the adapter apart, rob the circuit board and mount that somewhere under the dash.