does resistance acts as some kind of load and generate heat? No. I am NOT a electronician. That is a guess, not a statement.

bun

It does, that; but the point is to limit the current. By increasing the load (vs. connecting the battery-charge circuit with no resistance), it decreases the current, thus decreasing the total power.

The fake may also be wanting a voltage converter to increase the voltage above the 5V from the USB; with lower voltage, you won't blow things up as fast as the correct voltage with no resistor, and you'll actually be able to charge, whereas a 5V connection with a 5 Ohm resistance would give a full charge very slowly or not at all.

The proper thing to do, if you want to know what's up with a charger, is to measure the current-voltage characteristic and compare it to the limits proscribed in the PDFs here. But throwing a DMM on two units can provide a useful comparison.

Jchord, I assume you're measuring resistance with a DMM?

I may be wrong since I don't have any of them, but I think the original has a step-up converter (hence the 5 ohm apparent resistance), while the fake is just a piece of cable (hence almost no resistance at all).

I've bought 6 of these and haven't had any trouble, but I hacked one apart because I wanted to use the power plug to make my own charger. Anyway here is a picture of my hacked apart connector.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...7&postcount=24

My dad always remind me, "There is NO free lunch". He is right again. You got what you pay for. Well, since I am here, let me tally how much my N800 really really cost,

N800 $229 Buy.com
extra battery/charger $15
case $10
SDHC 16G $62
SDHC 8G $39
Tekkeon and 2700 mAh battery $25 + $43
GPS bt $59
Windshield mount $15
Shure earbud $75
USB reader $2

so far $574, and now a $2.40 cable, I think I am showing some self discipline for my hobby


How much your N800 + outfit really really cost?

Edit: never realize my $230 hobby turns into a little bit under $600, more than double........


bun

Haha, don't feel so bad considering iPod users spend alot more (read "Cult of the iPod" really interesting read). But yeah it does become expensive when you start buying accessories.

At least you can repurpose the SD cards. That's what I do since I have a 16 GB SDHC and a 4 GB SDHC. I took the 2 x 2 GB SDs and use them with my camera or the Nintendo Wii.

This seems like a better cable for $1.50 more:

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Charger-Cabl...QQcmdZViewItem

I got mine from dealextreme a couple of days ago. It works perfectly, even has "nokia" moulded into it. Power plug fits better than my known nokia power adapter.

I bought one off ebay, which is retractable. Standard USB plug on one end, Nokia connector on the other, a spring-loaded coil in the middle with the cable coiled up. Cost <$2 shipped, and I've used it for a long time, no problems at all. I use it in the car, with a USB charger plugged into a cig lighter outlet. Work good, last long time.

The fake cables I bought refuse to charge my N810 and N810W. They work on my N800s and N75 though.