Question about adapter for $79 Kindle

[CS]

Amazon sells adapters for the $79 Kindle for $10. Is there a cheaper way for me to get one, and is it even advisable for me to go the third-party route? I wouldn't want to accidentally harm my Kindle.

[Luvmy4brats]

Do you have an iPad/iPod? Those work just as well.

Or go to Amazon and do a search for USB wall charger. I have a double charger so I can charge both my iPhone and Kindle at the same time with the same outlet.

[Ann in Arlington]

The charger for many Droid phones will work as well.

[patrickt]

My extra charger was made for a Blackberry and cost me $6 at a cell phone store.

[Andra]

I also have some power strips that have USB ports on them.  They will even charge my finicky items

[bulrush]

If the physical connections fit the Kindle, it will charge, but chargers often do not have a data connection. They will not allow your Kindle to show up on your PC when connected to it. My personal experience.

I just posted a device for about $2.50us that was a retractable USB cord, that when connected to the PC, charged the Kindle and showed up on the PC as a drive. Here it is:
http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,87647.0.html

[Morf]

I think the OP was asking about mains adapters, whereas bulrush, you are talking about cables.

The new $79 Kindle ships with a cable but without a mains adapter.

OP, you should be fine with most alternative adapters as people have already said. The only thing that varies is the current they produce. The current is normally written on the charger either as mA (milliamps) or A (amps). There are 1000mA in 1A.

The Kindle adapter produces 850mA (0.85A) which is fairly standard. For comparison, the USB port on your PC produces about 500mA (0.5A).

This only really affects the speed of charging - if the adapter is less than 850mA it will take longer for the Kindle to charge. Some phone ones are only 500mA.

You can use an adapter with a higher rating, but be careful if it's a lot higher - I would personally avoid one with higher than 1000mA (1A) - it should be OK but I'd still be wary. To be entirely safe, stick with adapters of 850mA or less.