Cell Phone - General Devices Questions

[#1]

Does anyone know of a good external battery charger to charge a lithium ion battery?

 

I am the unfortunate owner of an LG VX8360 phone which has a rapid battery drain issue when it is turned off. (You can read about it on the Rapid VX8360 Battery Drain thread under General Device Questions on this forum)

 

I don't like removing a perfectly good battery in order to reinstall a totally dead battery just so I can charge it in the phone. Beside the fact that it's a nuisance, I'm concerned about wear on a flimsy plastic part that was not designed to be opened & closed on a frequent basis. I tried a Universal charger that is made in China (come to think of it everything is made in China these days :smileysad and it broke the 1st day before it had completely charged the battery even once.

 

Verizon doesn't carry an external charger, and LG doesn't make one. Any info you can pass on would be helpful and appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Ellen

[#2]

Though it is completely overkill for one battery, there are various battery charging products made by a company called Cadex that would charge, test and recondition (NiCd/NiMH) just about any type of battery. You may find one cheap on eBay or somewhere because these are somewhat pricey new.

Another idea is to find the same phone on eBay or Craigslist and use it as a battery charger only.

[#3]

Thanks for the reply LukeTech.

I agree, it's a bit overkill & pricey. I was hoping to find something small & travel friendly, but I guess that it's a tradeoff of small & inexpensive vs. expensive & stay-at-home. Maybe someone else will have an idea, even if it's something that I have to build myself. If not I guess I'll just have to spring for something like this or continue to charge the battery from within my phone.

Ellen

[#4]

I have lots of friends taht would much rather carry an extra battery with them. I know its annoying but if you are a heavy user its worth every penny.

[#5]

I would definitely check out a used/broken phone, like yours, that can be used as a battery charger only. There are plenty with broken displays, flips, etc that will charge a battery perfectly fine. Charging LiIon batteries takes more than simply applying voltage to the battery terminals, it takes some intelligence inside the charger to prevent overcharge and control the charge rate as LiIon batteries are somewhat more unstable compared to older chemistries. This circuitry is built into the phone.

[#6]

I got a universal battery charger for my Nokia N95 several weeks ago, and it works fine for me. It is convenient for carrying and simple for operating. If you have a tendency to forget to charge your phone or accidentally leave your charger at home when you’re headed out for a weekend, you might consider picking up a portable universal phone battery charger

[#7]

I went to other places for business last month, when I talking with my parter by my cellphone(Nokia), Sony Ericsson, it was batteriy low,  fortunately, my wife has putted a ready battery for me, so it met power within short time, it is built-in rechargeable lithium battery.

Travel charger