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Not All USB Power Is Created Equal

Posted by Soulskill on from the it-should-consider-a-constitution dept.

jfruh writes "We've reached a point in our electronic lives where most of our gadgets draw power from a USB cable, and we have lots of USB ports to choose from — some of which live on other gadgets, some of which live on adapters that plug into your wall or car. But those ports supply wildly varying amounts of power, which can result in hours of difference in how long it takes your phone to charge. The Practical Meter, the product of a successful Kickstarter campaign, can help you figure out which power sources are going to juice up your gadgets the fastest."

3 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. Faster isn't always better by Lennie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I believe most types of battery when charged faster actually degrade faster.

    Life fast die fast ;-)

    --
    New things are always on the horizon
  2. won't help for Samsung note 2 by leehwtsohg · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Samsung seems to measure the "reliability" of the supply or the cable, and limits power based on those values. Then the same supply will charge at different rates depending on the cable used.

  3. Re:Apple vs. Other Devices by dprimary · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I have never had any problems charging any apple product with a non apple charger or charging other products with an apple charger. Then again I don't buy $2 POS chargers. There might be a good reason the iPhone will not accept power from it.
    Maybe you want to get out a meter and a scope and look at that charger closer before you have a car fire.