tenthofjune

Not content with removing the FireWire interface from iPods in favour of the exclusive use of the inferior USB interface, Apple has removed the FireWire charging option from the Nano 4G, iPod Touch 2G, iPhone 3G. Unfortunately, most third party manufacturers of docks, speakers and car interfaces, used the FireWire charging option on their interfaces, rendering them useless for charging the latest iPod/iPhones.

Worse still, plugging one of these latest iDevices into an older dock connector throws up a warning message (see left, click for larger) suggesting you switch to flight mode. Not what you want to do if you still want to receive phone calls!

Enter Scosche Passport which is an adapter that sits between your iPod/iPhone and the normal dock connector and redirects power to the USB power pins. (Scosche also make a Home Dock version for use in a speaker dock). Unfortunately, and wrongly, the iPhone still displays the warning message, despite the fact that the iPhone is now clearly charging. Hopefully Apple can fix this bug in a future software release.

At only £5 more than a Griffin car charger, I can now have my iPhone connected like my old iPod 3G with no need for a separate car charger. It also has the added advantage that I can choose whether to charge the iPhone when it is plugged into the Dension Ice-Link or allow it to drain – My iPod 3G used to remain permanently connected to the Ice-Link and its battery suffered as a result, now being unusable without external power.

My only criticism is that the size of the Passport makes the overall connection a little flimsy; it would have been better if it was made as an in-line lead so there was no load on the iPhone’s connector. Alternatively it could have been made shorter but wider, but its size has obviously been chosen to fit the width of an iPod Nano. The false warning on the iPhone is also a nuisance.

All this could of course have been avoided, had Apple done the right thing in the first place and left the FireWire charging pin connected.