QuickerTek iPad charge monitor tests your USB port's output potential
By Darren Murph 
posted May 12th 2010 2:41PM
posted May 12th 2010 2:41PM
Oh, Apple. Just a few short months ago, a USB port was (largely) a USB port, charging pretty much any gizmo we could find without so much as a fuss. Now, loads of USB ports are throwing temper tantrums when faced with the energy-hungry iPad, with most simply refusing to charge the thing. Apple contends that a 10W USB port is needed to effectively rejuvenate its first tablet, though some sockets will do the trick so long as you have the display switched off. If you're looking to quickly evaluate the strength of every USB port in your home or office, QuickerTek's aptly-titled iPad Charge Monitor ain't a half bad option. You simply plug this LED-infused dongle into a suspicious port, then connect the product you wish to charge to the other end; the device then glows to tell you how much power is flowing out, though there's nothing included to deal with all-but-guaranteed bouts of frustration from seeing too few LEDs light up. It's up for order right now at $29.95, and while you're over there, you can pick up an iPad solar panel and an iPad external battery pack for $250 each. What a bargain.[Thanks, Lan]
...If someone wanted to evaluate whether ports in their home would work with the iPad, why wouldn't they simply plug the iPad into it and see if it works? $29.95 saved!
@benjs
Wow.
Apple; Taking the Universal out of USB.
@David Bailey Now Mac users can boast about their "superior" USB ports.
@David Bailey
you just have USBenvy
@crawcraw I know, it's obviously because I'm too poor to be able to afford good USB ports.
@David Bailey
Painless and gives you result instantly.
@David Bailey
"More power to the iPad!"
What's to stop using a twin USB to take power from more than one socket?
Ridiculous but so amazingly useful I actually want one.
The readouts are
"they blew it"
and
"magical and revolutionary power"
@crawcraw
Indeed, my USB port did just blow it.
Useless. I can use a multimeter.
My N900 wouldn't charge over a standard USB DC charger and my current Nexus One only trickle charges over a standard USB port (you have to use the included AC charger to charge "quickly"). I say this is more than an iPad problem.
@jonshipman Indeed. Any device that is as capable as an iPad (netbooks, tablets, etc.) is going to be incapable of charging via USB. Since when did people start expecting to be able to charge computers with other computers?
Apple truly does suck.
Have their devs never heard of a driver?
BlackBerry solved this issue years ago by simply using a special driver that makes the USB port pump out more juice.
Sucky Apple Sucks.
@mykdinis I'm pretty sure that it's down to actual capability of the ports, but hey, I might be wrong.
@David Bailey
W = VA
USB 2.0 will do 5V and up to 500mA (5A)
therefore, each USB port (per header) can do 25W.
The only thing that determines the power output is the driver you use.
@mykdinis
quick edit: That's USB 2.0 standard, not powered.
Powered USB can carry way more juice.
@mykdinis If what you say is true, then it is yet another example of Apple sucking a big pair of balls. But please don't flame me someone if he lies.
@David Bailey
:) Fair enough... Here's the wiki link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus#Power
@mykdinis 500mA is 0.5A and not 5A so it equates to 2.5W not 25W
@Xstream
DOH! Good call! My bad! :)
@mykdinis
Many computers have PSU that are just barely powerful enough to run the computer as it came, and then people upgrade the video card etc and the PSU is essentially maxed out.
It isn't hard to imagine a situation where a 300w power supply is maxed out and doesnt have an extra 25w to devote to a usb port.
So watt?
@guroth
How 'bout using a powered USB hub or plugging it into the wall? I'm assuming that Apple, at the very least, shipped the damned thing with a wall charger.
Then again (devil's advocate), I personally don't usually charge my PCs (regardless of form factor) via another PC. Call me crazy. :)
@mykdinis
Sorry big guy but 1000 mA= 1 Amp. Thus
500 mA= 0.5 Amps
5 Volts * 0.5 Amps= 2.5 Watts per USB Header.
iCapitalism
Or, you could, you know, check how many mAh the controller reports are being drawn in the device manager? You can do that for free.
Pretty inaccurate article... ANY USB port that puts out 500mA (which is virtually all of them) will charge an iPad, albeit very slowly. It works though. If you leave it plugged in overnight, with the screen off, it will fully charge.
I don't know why everyone thinks this is Apple's fault; many phone manufacturers have phones that will only charge SLOWLY off a standard 500mA port, and prefer you use a 1A port. And that's for a simple phone; the iPad has a much bigger battery, so of course it would prefer more juice to charge faster. Anyway, they include a charger in the box; it's not like they're forcing you to use the USB port or to buy a charger separately.
@DTJ wait till the 2nd gen (happened to the ipods before)
For that price, you could sell a USB pass-through with a power brick that *fixes* the problem...
Isn't a USB port supposed to provide X amount of power? Is apple exceeding that? Or are some USB ports just crappy?
The article isn't clear, and I'm not an electrician, so just curious as to what the case is here. I'm assuming it's Apple. *cough* minidisplayport *cough*
@waffletronic
Yes... as stated above a standard USB port should be able to provide at least 5v 500ma (2.5 watts)... If the USB port can only supply 2.5 watts its going to have a tough time powering the ipad, let alone charging the battery as well. Even the iphone can user more than 2.5w/h when playing music as well as running tomtom etc.
So unless you have a USB port that can supply more power than that, there's really not much apple can do.
Leave it to Apple to always fuck up one or two major things on their wonderful, magical devices.
Why can't they just make a charge pump that will draw for several seconds/minutes then push it to the ipad. It may not be optimal... Or how about a dongle that plugs into multiple USB ports and collects the energy from those (Note: I understand that 1 chip supplies multiple ports, but there are usually multiple chips...)
What is wrong with apple? They seem to constantly be totally screwing something totally trivial. Like the iPhone 3G charging debacle making 80% of all 3rd party charging solutions like built-in vehicle connectors useless overnight.
Now this, I'm sure apple engineers could figure out that a vast majority of USB ports cannot provide 10W of power, especially since the standard calls for 2.5W.
Way to stick it to your users apple!
@LEDfoot
That seems to be a charging standard that the iphone uses... It the same with my ipaq, which will show 'ac' chargning when using a charger that supplies a voltage over pins 2-3, its not that hard to modify a car charger etc to work anyway, just takes 2 resistors.
@LEDfoot I do not think apple intended the USB port to be the means of charging the device.
Wow, $29.95, really? Seems like you could do this for a whole lot less (and get more information to boot.) All you'd need is:
1) USB extension cable ($0.94 at monoprice.com)
2) Cheap multimeter ($4 on ebay)
Tap multimeter into the red line and you're done. No LED idiot lights, just read the flow rate off the meter.
@TIMMAH Multimeters (especially cheap ones) will usually read incorrectly because of the amount of draw (or lack thereof). On the other hand, I am not sure that this device is really all that much better. Easiest test is plug in the iPad and check, if it doesn't work, plug in the charger and use it.
@sys3175 Thanks sys3175. Yeah I don't think it would be that off though. Also, can't you combine the output of two USB ports using the typical external HD 'Y' cable to get more than 2.5W?
@TIMMAH
Would you believe that on the entire internets, a search for "usb Y cable ipad" finds this post of yours as number 1?
I think it would work but maybe not enough profit for anyone to make it?
Whats up with this buggy piece of hardware having been released so early? I guess because it sold a gagillion units in its first month. But man- not being able to charge the unit properly? That seems pretty basic.