Why the hell can my toothbrush charge

[quakerboy]

with no exposed connections, while my cell phone has to use a crappy little connector that will invariably get broken within a year?

This is particularly infuriating when one gets a new phone. I dont know about anyone else here, but this thing has to last multiple years. I would really really love to just shrink wrap the thing and use the free bluetooth thingie I was given by a friend, so that my phone will last longer. But I cant do that, because I have to be able to plug the phone in to recharge.

[rrneck]

1. I'm betting

feature fatigue. It has to do umpteen twenty dozen things through that connection in addition to getting voltage to the battery.

[gmoney]

2. You can probably get a case that would allow access to the charger port.

Check eBay... usually the stuff is nearly free, with a "modest" shipping and handling charge. You can probably get a backup charger or even one for the car as part of a bundle.

Yeah, the toothbrush thing is kind of remarkable, and they should use it in more things, but I'd guess it slows down charging -- with a toothbrush you use it for a few minutes 2 or 3 times a day, or maybe a little more, so it doesn't need much juice. Your cell has to constantly be in standby mode for calls and is tranceiving and has lights and sound and all kinds of stuff, so the battery has to hold a much greater charge.

Good news, I heard that the cell phone manufacturers are actually going to settle on a universal recharger configuration, so at least it will be easy to find a replacement.

[quakerboy]

4. Nope.not on mine

I inadvertantly got a 'new" phone model. I saw it, my boss was paying, it was the cheapest one that had the features i wanted. I had no idea it was new, and didnt even look at accessories, figuring to hit e-bay. There is no nothing for my phone in the stores or on the net.

the universal charger is better than the current system, probably. If they choose a good plug, though I have my doubts they would pick the one I would. I like the round Nokia plug, because its never broken on me, unlike all the long thin data port plugs. But I dont really even want a universal plug. Why are there no induction set ups available? If they can do it with a toothbrush, surely they could do it with a phone. And data/computer connections could go via bluetooth or something of that nature. It seems so simple, there are several companies with press releases. And not a one of them has a product on the market. What the hell

[pokerfan]

3. Cost, mainly

It's cheaper for the toothbrush manufacture to meet regulatory safety standards with an inductive charger than one that's cabled to the mains. That's why you see them in the bathroom, e.g. wet dry shavers, toothbrushes, etc.

But they are coming. The Palm Pre has an inductive charger accessory for example.

[quakerboy]

5. Explain

Somehow I am missing something there. Cabled to the mains?

I see several companies devoted to making them. with press releases going back years, if i read it right. And nothing on the market. They sell after market batteries. How hard could it be to make an aftermarket battery that could charge itself from a paired charger?

[pokerfan]

6. The AC outlet

Any consumer product intended to be used around water and drains must meet safety standards to avert electrocution. Making a charger with no exposed contacts was a cost savings for the toothbrush manufacturer.

But they are emerging for cell phones. In the case of the Palm Pre for one example, they are already here. I understand that there's also an inductive charger for the Wii.

[quakerboy]

8. I had heard about the Wii

and I have found at least 2 companies that would seem to be developing products for the cell market. But by what I can see, they have been promising "soon, just around the corner" since 2005 or earlier, and have yet to release anything for any market.

[pokerfan]

10. Yeah

Another issue is that a shaver or a toothbrush spends 99% of its life in its cradle so trickle charging is more than adequate. Cell phones on the other hand, never have enough energy capacity to do what we want them to do, their small size requirement is pushing the limits of energy density possible in batteries and oh yeah, we want them recharged from dead in hours if not minutes. As such, their charging algorithms are incredibly sophisticated. Temperature in individual cells must be carefully monitored along with voltage and current (gas guage) to prevent overcharging which could potentially lead to a kaboom! or at best a degradation in the life of the battery. So adding an inductive cradle to the mix just adds another variable so I can understand why manufacturers have steered cleared to this point.

[quakerboy]

11. I suppose

Though my toothbrush (actually my wifes, mine needs no battery) only needs to be charged overnight about once a week. And it dosn't seem to need that much, but we charge it while sleeping. Most of the time we leave it out of the cradle on the general theory that the less often we charge it the more cycles we may get out of the battery.

All I am saying is that if someone would offer me a way to use inductive charging for my cellphone in the next week, They would have total command of my admittedly limited disposable income.

[Sebastian Doyle]

7. Unfortunately, those toothbrushes die if they get any "dirty" power

My TV, stereo, PC, and cell phone chargers are all plugged into high end power strips that filter out the bad shit. Never occurred to me that I'd need one for a goddamn toothbrush :evilfrown:

[quakerboy]

9. What now?