This link just wouldn't have been quite as clickable: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: HP is the best .
Its an appeal to the Apple sycophants who troll this web site: "oh no who dares best my beloved Apple?!? I'd better click!"
A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
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Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#12Too bad the Amazon Kindle charger isn't in the mix, it is my favorite just because it is so tiny and relatively high output. Would have liked to see same analysis for it.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#13It's off-topic, but I've been trying to figure it out for a while: I have a two-port "Gear4" USB charger with swappable plugs, so it's great for travelling. However, my new work BlackBerry won't accept a charge from it, complaining about it being too low powered - however, the Gear4 charger says it's 2A, the BB charger is 750mA. Does anyone know what's the deal?
The charger has to signal that it is capable of providing more than the standard current. There are two ways this can be done - one is via the USB standard, and the other is the Apple way. Needless to say most chargers go the Apple way, so you should generally look for chargers that claim to not be compatible with Apple. Here is an example story of trying to find one: https://plus.google.com/117091380454742934025/posts/5suTrJrp...
In some cases the chargers and devices have gone a third way. This is very typical for tablets as they need a lot more current in order to charge within a reasonable time frame. At that point many manufacturers have made up their own way of signalling the ability.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#14Would be nice to know how the adafruit charger does: http://adafruit.com/products/501
I bought two for ~$3 apiece at Fry's a few months ago. One is OK, the other was and is DOA. The one that mostly works sometimes requires jiggling in the jack to make contact, but generally they are a garbage, F-, would not buy again product.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#15The lesson here is that if you don't want to pay for an official apple charger, do not buy a counterfeit one just buy any name brand one with the right wattage rating.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#16The lesson here is that if you don't want to pay for an official apple charger, do not buy a counterfeit one just buy any name brand one with the right wattage rating.
And even with Apple chargers you risk using a charger with the wrong wattage (iPad charger vs. iPhone/iPod IIRC).
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#17This link just wouldn't have been quite as clickable: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: HP is the best .
Its an appeal to the Apple sycophants who troll this web site: "oh no who dares best my beloved Apple?!? I'd better click!"
Would you like a higher quality site? Belittling comments such as this, to a group of the users here, will not get us there.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#18" Since the designers of the Apple charger went to a great deal of effort to build a high quality charger, I conclude they must not consider voltage sag worth worrying about. Or, more interestingly, maybe they built this sag as a feature for some reason. In any case, the chargers lose points on this."
I'm not versed in the arcane arts of EE— could anyone give me a basic definition of voltage sag? And would there be any reason to build it as a feature in a charger?
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#19I'm pretty sure there is a guaranteed-success Kickstarter for a $10-20 clean-charging plug in this story.
Re: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best
#20Would be nice to know how the adafruit charger does: http://adafruit.com/products/501
Good question! I test all the products in the adafruit shop for quality and functionality :)
I tried out half a dozen 5v/1a adapters and this one was the winner - best performance and a very good price for UL listed. The most important points: It has the 'iDevice' resistors and has very good voltage regulation - extremely clean, no big voltage spikes. When loaded down 1A it stays around 5.2V, I actually pulled 1.5A and it was still above 5V. I opened a few up to look at the construction and found it well designed with good soldering, strain relief etc. In the product description I explain why its a 5.25V not 5V adapter - its perfect for high-current devices like the Raspberry Pi and we have thousands of customers who have happily used it for the Pi.