As many other phones you can't use a plain data cable plugged in a lighter2usb car adapter.

As many other phones the n900 charges via usb cable only when it founds the driver loaded on the other side (eg: PC, or usb enabled car stereo), or via a true charger which (I suppose) identifies itself as charger.

I don't know the details, but I think it does via a resistor on the 5th pin.

I'm actually using a car charger bought some time ago for a BB storm 9500, and it works perfectly.

i'm using my friends blackberry charger he brought from target and it works just fine so far

Well this is totally unexpected. I bought an extra data cable off fleabay and was going to get a car charger as well. The one's I'm aiming for are 1000ma or 1 amp.

Had the same issues with the car chargers I had used for my iPhone not working with the N900. Tonight I bought a dedicated micro usb connection car charger that is made by Verizon. It seems to work just fine.

n900 USB charging solved!

USB charging has become an official USB standard this year:

http://www.usb.org/developers/devcla...arging_1_1.zip

To summariize this: A USB charger is expected to shorten the USB data lines D+ and D-.

Some older devices (especially iPods) implement something different and e.g. keep the data lines on 2.5V via two pairs of 25k resistors.

My car adapter also did not work with the n900. So i opened it to find those four iPod resistors (i don't own an ipod, so i can't tell you if a ipod would actually be charged on this).

I then just bridged the D+ and D- line in my car adapter (the two middle ones on the usb socket) with a 200 ohms resistor (in fact 2*100 ohms in series). And guess what? Now it charges my n900 just fine.

amorek13: I have an iPod charger that looks like this but has 1000mA max output. I had to replace the generator in my car after using it with N900.

You damaged the generator in your car? That's pretty odd for several reasons:

1. There's a fuse between the generator and the socket in your car to prevent damage from shortcircuits
2. The generator is able to charge a car battery which by far exceeds anything you n900 will ever draw
3. There's a battery in your car being able to take load of your generator. This battery is able to provide several thousand amps.

To summarize: Whatever you plug into your car will burn and smoke way before any harm to the generator is being caused.

Well, I think most likely that the generator in question was near its death anyway and this charger was just the last straw. Some components inside the charger did melt. Also, the car in question is Lada.

I also tried a 'MotorMonkey' USB charger with my N900 today and it didn't work either. Fortunately I sell various things like this so will be able to test some other kinds tomorrow.

I have a Griffin 12v adaptor that was for my first gen iphone. The Nokia cable charges my BB Tour with no problems. Does not charge my N900. The Griffin does not have any markings letting me know what is the output.