Car Charger not providing enough charge!

[CreepyD]

I recently received my Hero's upgrade to 2.1 and have been very happy with the Google Navigation software!
However, it's an obviously big drain on the battery, what with requiring GPS and all, so I bought a generic USB car charger from eBay for 99p.

It does indeed charge the phone, but not fast enough!
I even get an error on the screen telling me that the charge is not enough to stop my battery level falling.

So my question is, are all usb chargers the same?
I notice it's also a very slow charge from the PC too and takes a few hours to charge the phone, whereas it only takes 45 mins or so from a wall socket.

Can anyone confirm that if I spent

 

[mattdanielc]

Completely agree - we need a decent car charger to use navigation.

Can't help with your query..but I'm amazed you manage to charge yours through the mains on 45 minutes... it takes me 2 hrs exactly! When I charge into my PC it definitely takes much longer but no idea how much.

 

[peterc10]

What ampage (or milliampage) is the charger?

I run my car dock using a very small USB car charger that i bought from Maplin - it fits almost flush with the top of the outlet. Bought it because it looks better. I have no problem running my purchased Sat Nav, Sygic, or Google Nav on 2.1. Even works when I use Nav in Satelite view. Mind you the data usage is pretty high, so not for everyday use.

 

[Slug]

Max output for PC USB sockets is 500mA, whereas the "wall wart" outputs 1A. That's why charging via USB takes much longer than from the mains. A car charger outputting close to 1A should do the job nicely.