USB Charger universal?

[greg leece]

I have a mains to USB charger that effectively changes the mains voltage to
USB power output levels. This specific one came with my Blackberry. My
question is, can this be used for any USB device that is charged/powered by
the USB port (eg. Ipod)?

On the Blackberry charger the specification states:
Input: 100-240v, 0.15A, 50-60Hz
DC Output: +5.0V 0.5A (5,0Vc.c. 0,5A)

My thought is it should, others say not, but nobody has been able to give me
an answer not motivated by fear/ignorance. Hence my turning to this august
body.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Greg

 

[Don Bruder]

I have a mains to USB charger that effectively changes the mains voltage to
USB power output levels. This specific one came with my Blackberry. My
question is, can this be used for any USB device that is charged/powered by
the USB port (eg. Ipod)?

On the Blackberry charger the specification states:
Input: 100-240v, 0.15A, 50-60Hz
DC Output: +5.0V 0.5A (5,0Vc.c. 0,5A)

My thought is it should, others say not, but nobody has been able to give me
an answer not motivated by fear/ignorance. Hence my turning to this august
body.

5 volts at 500mA ( = .5A) is 5 volts at 500 mA. Which is exactly what
the USB spec calls for.

The next pertinent question is "are the connectors on this adapter and
the device you plan on using it with physically compatible?"

If the answer is yes, then you're golden, otherwise you're going to need
to buy or make a plug adapter so that you can hook the beast up.