BlackBerry® Tour™

[wab]

I'm about to get the Tour which will be my first BB after a long history with Palm and WM.  I'm a bit confused about what charging and syncing cables I will need.  I have USB wall/chargers which I have assumed I can use with just a simple usb to micro-USB retractable cable.  However, many of the vendors seem to be selling dual head cables.  Do I need these?  If so, is that only from a wall or car charger?  Will a simple USB-micro cable work for both data and charging from the computer?  Sorry if all this is well known in the BB community, but I have not previously come upon such an issue.  Thanks.

[diffused]

From what I understand, the heavier cable also known as a data cable would be for transferring data from phone to and from PC. I bought the Seidio retractable with the intent of using is for data transfers but my husband said it didn't have the wiring capable of doing this successfully. Seidio says it's a USB charger; red end for charging off PC? And black head for sync and charge when hooked to PC. Does this help at all?

[wab]

Sorry, I'm still not following. Aren't syncing and data transfer the same thing? I assumed the black end would charge and transfer data. This is unexpectedly more complicated than in the Windows Mobile world where for most devices all cables can accomplish both charging and syncing. I'm still looking for clarity--what cables do I need for charging off a wall-car charger and what do I need for syncing and charging off the PC? Do I really need dual headed cables to accomplish this?

[gsgolfer]

Yes, UBS sync and data CABLE are one in the same.. that cable along with charging plug comes packaged with the phone, least they did through Verizon.  I believe that should be the case with other cell vendors in the US as well.  Wall and car chargers are two separate cables.

Although I have NOT used sync/data cable to charge my phone if plugged into the computer it should charge the phone.

[wab]

Sorry to be obssessive about this, but if I'm understanding this correctly, the included cable charges from the BB wall charger and syncs data with the PC.  With other wall/car chargers, all bets are off and a double headed cable may be necessary.  Is that a correct interpretation?

[diffused]

No, you don't need a special cable. Your phone will come with basic cabling and a wall charger. If you want a car charger make sure it is compatible and from a reputable source. You are correct, data and syncing are both the same. Some cables are not equipped with data wires, only the charging wires. These are very cheap wires but they will work with car/wall chargers. A single headed computer USB cable with Micro USB is all you n eed for data and sensing. Your phone should come with this. Sorry for the confusion.

[wab]

This is helpful.  Frankly, the Seidio offerings are part of the confusion.  They offer single headed and double headed retractable USB-micro USB cables for the Tour.  If the single headed cable suffices for data and charging, why the other option?  Their web site implies that it has to do with external, 3rd party chargers, but this is far from clear.

[diffused]

The only thing we can figure the dbl headed is possibly for a second device. Very confusing for us as well.

[wab]

Now that I have mine here's what I've found. As others have described, my Tour charges from the PC but does not charge by USB connection to an external wall charger. That's probably where the double headed cable is needed.

[wraith0518]

The Tour uses the Newer "Micro" Usb Conenction. Phone comes with a Standard Wall Charger and 1 Data Cable(little short for my Taste 1.5 feet). Most of your Palm and WM Devices use the Mini USB type conenctor.

However you can purchase an adaptor (amazon has them for around 2$) to Convert from Mini to Micro USB so you can use all your old Chargers and Cables.