Molten Networks

I have a re-branded HTC Wizard PDA phone. All in all, it’s a nice device. There are some annoyances, such as “Internet Access” really means “web access”.

Then, I lost my power cord. No problem, I went to my local ATT (I call them the Death Star - look at the logo again) store and purchased a replacement. The phone would not charge. All sorts of disaster scenarios went through my head. A little research online, however, noted something interesting. The charger I purchased was a 5v, 750ma unit, but the charger that came with the phone was a 5v 1A unit.

Luckily, I found the charger that came with the phone, plugged it up, and it started to charge.

Two things irk me. First, since the phone uses a USB connector for power, HTC should have made the phone charge a fully discharged battery from the USB standard 5v/500ma power. Sure, it may take all night - no big deal. The bigger irk is the Death Star store selling a “replacement” charger that does not produce enough power to charge the phone.

Long story short - verify the power needs before going to a store. I made the assumption (yes, I know all about that word) that a replacement part from the same store from which I purchased the phone would work.