Nook/NookColor USB Cables

[harrier47]

Sorry if this had been asked.

I noted that the usb charging cable for the upcoming NookColor is 5 feet long, as compared to Nook's 40 inch cable.

Will the 5 foot one work with the old Nook? There are times I'd like a longer stretch than 40 inches. (Yikes, sounds like weird spam!)

harrier

[bklvr896]

Michael-V answered this question earlier this week.  If I remember correctly, he said there is a difference between the two cable, but I don't remember exactly what he said or which one could be used interchangeably.  You might want to search the boards to see if you can find his response.

You can buy a longer USB micro cable to use a lot of places really cheap.

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

See this posting by Jeffrey (Nook_Engineer) on the NOOKcolor Technical Support board: http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/NOOKcolor-Technical-Support/Use-while-charging/m-p/714116#M20...

[harrier47]

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Doug_Pardee wrote:

See this posting by Jeffrey (Nook_Engineer) on the NOOKcolor Technical Support board: http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/NOOKcolor-Technical-Support/Use-while-charging/m-p/714116#M20...

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Thanks, Doug, for the link... answers all my questions. Sorry my search didn't find it beforehand. And I'll follow bklvr's advice to find a longer micro-usb cable.

john b.

[Michael-V]

The NOOKcolor comes with a wall adapter charger designed for fast charging that will charge your NOOKcolor to 80% in 2 hours, and fully charge your NOOKcolor in 4-5 hours. If you operate your NOOKcolor while charging, then the charging process will take longer (depending on activity).

 When connected to a PC or Mac via a USB cable, NOOKcolor can charge but at a much slower rate and only if the device is not in use. Otherwise using the device will actually consume more power that it receives from the USB cable. 

 NOTE: We do not recommend using any other wall adapter charger including the original NOOK charger.

NOOKcolor has a custom connector that is compatible with usb connectivity.

While the NOOKcolor connector may appear the same as a microUSB connector, the connector is slightly longer supporting a second set of pins dedicated for charging at a higher rate for a higher capacity battery (when compared to Nook and other mobile devices). As a result the NOOKcolor connector will NOT work in other typical microUSB ports.

However you can use a microUSB connector on the NOOKcolor to sync data from a PC/MAC, but not for the fast charging provided by your dedicated NOOKcolor cable.

One more thing – the NOOKcolor cable should ONLY be used with the provided NOOKcolor AC adaptor. 

[dirtygreek]

What Michael-V says appears to be true. So the documentation for the NC says that plugging into a USB port will not charge the device, you must use the included charger and cable.  This is true about getting the "fast charge," but overall, this appears to be untrue. While plugged into USB, the NC DOES charge, though there's no indicator... except that the charge level does go up. I just had mine plugged in for a few hours, starting at 85%, and when I looked at it again it was topped up.

I assume this will also be the case using a regular Micro USB cable and not just the included cable. I'll test that out next. FYI.

[Michael-V]

Plugging into USB will cause the battery to drain less slowly) but at a much slower rate and only if the device is not in use. Otherwise using the device will actually consume more power that it receives from the USB cable. 

If the screen is inactive (and it's not playing music or Pandora), then the device will charge *slowly*.

NOTE: We do not recommend using any other wall adapter charger including the original NOOK charger.