Re: One for the Apple-ites!

[Mark McCall <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Read this on a forum ( http://bit.ly/da6kD ), not sure if its true
though....

"There's a big misconception about USB charging that its just like
outlet charging. You plug something into the usb slot and you get
power.

Well, thats not really true. USB has two modes of charging. The basic
mode is something around 100mw and should be available to all devices.
Most likely your hub has the brains to give out 100mw. Devices can
request 500mw but they need to do a digital handshake with a USB2.0
controller that supports this. Your hub may not support this mode. So
your iphone is trying to get that juicy 500mw and your hub wont let
it. I believe the iphone will still use power but it cannot charge its
battery at 100mw.

One of the problems with hubs and cheapo usb adapters is that they
dont have the logic or the means to deliver 500mw. They're just dumb
100mw devices. You can buy apple's official charger, buy a 3rd party
device designed to give 500mw, or plug it straight into a computer. Im
not sure what brand/model of hubs can do 500mw without a computer on
(if that even makes a difference)."

These adaptors also available -
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/b43f/?cpg=ab

M.


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