TechRadar Verdict
As the name suggests, it's a car charger with a Lightning connector on the end. If your Apple kit is of older, non-Lightning vintage, you'll need an adaptor. The 10W supply charges your device quickly and it's another solid Belkin product.
Pros
- +
Charges fast
- +
Good for new Apple products
- +
Compact
- +
Easy to insert and remove from power socket
Cons
- -
No use for older Apple products
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Belkin has produced another solid product with the Belkin Lightning Car Charger for the iPhone 5.
Some companies have made a good living out of making peripherals for Apple's old iPod, iPhone and iPad connections. However, the launch of the iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad 4 introduced the new Lightning connector, that's smaller and faster than the older port. It's undoubtedly a nice feature, but it can render the peripherals we've bought for our older Apple products obsolete.
You can buy an adaptor so that you can use a Lightning port with an older device, though it's a rather inelegant solution that removes almost all of the benefits of the new port. It does mean you get to keep your old peripherals, and is also useful if you have a number of Apple devices, with some of them still using the older port, since it enables you to use all your devices.
The second option, as Belkin took with its Lightning Connector Car Charger, is to make a device that works from the ground up for Lightning connections. It's small, good looking and charges the device quickly, thanks to its 10 watt power output. There's no need for an adaptor, and it can be easily stored in the car when not in use.
Rubber grips around the head of the adaptor make it easy to insert and unplug the adaptor, and the included 1.2m (4ft) lead is a decent length.
Verdict
Overall this is a good product to buy if you only have an Apple product with the new Lightning connection. However, if you have other Apple devices with the older port, then this car charger will be of limited use, and you might be better off getting an adaptor.
