Proprietary Charger??

[Stang68]

Hey everyone,

I was going over the XOOM User Manual and saw that there is a charger port on the bottom for an AC Power Plug. This is kind of upsetting as I have so many effing micro-USB plugs and cables and car chargers.

In the manual it said: "Use only the charger that came with your tablet when charging your tablet. Do NOT attempt to connect a charger to the USB port. The USB port is used for data transfer only, NOT for charging."

So what does that mean? If we plug it into the computer, which according to them is 100% cool for transferring movies and music, it won't charge via micro-USB, like every other phone? That kind of sucks.

 

[Live2ride883]

Micro USB connectors cannot handle the amount of currant a tablet needs to charge in a decent amount of time. They are fine for smart phones and other low power devices though.

 

[EJL1980]

Micro USB connectors cannot handle the amount of currant a tablet needs to charge in a decent amount of time. They are fine for smart phones and other low power devices though.

. I thought the ipad recharged through a dock connector? All usb connectors (micro or full size) can are capable of providing the same current.

 

[wbonnefond]

. I thought the ipad recharged through a dock connector? All usb connectors (micro or full size) can are capable of providing the same current.

The iPad needs the special connector that came with it, it cannot charge though a normal iPod USB cord.

 

[Auzo]

First its likely not just purely the current draw thats the problem. The battery in the zoom is likely higher voltage than what is supplied by USB (5V). If you are not supplying the proper voltage to the battery you can have all the current in the world and it wont charge.

Think of it this way. Current is water and only flows downhill. If you are not higher than your target the current will never flow to it. Voltage is like your height and you need your charger to be higher than your receiver.

Secondly the plug is hardly proprietary, its a pretty basic circular pin power plug (made that name up). Moto definitely did not create it.

And as a last note, the Ipad can charge through certain USB ports. Apple claims any High Power USB port, but it seems that its not quite that accommodating.

 

[veccster]

So there is no USB to Xoom charger cables out there?

I have several of the DC-USB adapters for my vehicles that I would like to use.

I also don't want to have buy multiple chargers for my xoom.

 

[DeusInnomen]

The Xoom's charger pushes out 12V at 1.5A, which I believe is 3x what USB can offer on both measures.

Given the battery life I'm experiencing so far, it's not a big deal for me. I've had my Xoom off the charger for 5.5 hours now and I've been streaming music for the majority of that, checked email a few times, did some web browsing and showed the tablet to a coworker. I'm still at 87% battery left. I'm not using it non-stop though, I DO have a day job keeping me busy.

 

[Suntan]

The charger for the Xoom outputs 12V. The USB connection only puts out 5V.

Get yourself a couple of dedicated chargers.

-Suntan

 

[tntdroid]

Plus the XOOM charges quickly with is charger.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[inphoenix]

Xoom does charge quickly and battery life is pretty good.

But it would be nice to have an AC USB adaptor (like Droid X) so that one does not have to carry two chargers while travelling.

 

[DrWu]

Agreed that USB charging would be prefered. I understand that computers output 5 volts, but they make usb power bricks that output 12v. The USB carchargers output 12 volts as well. Yes the ipad uses the apple dock connector to connect to the ipad, but the other end is standard usb - it doesn't charge when pluged into a standard USB port on a computer, but it charges great when plugged into a usb car charger or power brick. Motorola could have copied this same setup , they were just lazy. I don't want to carry multiple power bricks with me on trips I want to carry 1.

All of that said - I still love my xoom and if, at the end of the day the only thing I can complain about is the charger, then I'm happy. Now, if they would just get that SD slot working.....

 

[Suntan]

Agreed that USB charging would be prefered. I understand that computers output 5 volts, but they make usb power bricks that output 12v. The USB carchargers output 12 volts as well.

Are you saying that a standard charger with a USB specification tip outputs 12V? I find that hard to believe.

Nobody likes doing the charger shuffle. But that?s life.

You can get those iGo charger deals at Rat Shack and then get different tips. I?m sure they have a micro USB tip for phones and a round one that fits the Xoom. Personally, I think they are a little spendy for the convenience.

-Suntan

 

[DrWu]

Are you saying that a standard charger with a USB specification tip outputs 12V? I find that hard to believe.

-Suntan

Sorry getting volts and watts confused. USB is 5 Volts and standard wattage is 2.5 for usb, the ipad has a 10 watt charger, I think the Xoom is 18 watts. Oh well. all of this talk is irrelevant anyway...the xoom is released and this isn't a software fix so we're stuck with what we got.

 

[veccster]

Agreed that USB charging would be prefered. I understand that computers output 5 volts, but they make usb power bricks that output 12v. The USB carchargers output 12 volts as well. Yes the ipad uses the apple dock connector to connect to the ipad, but the other end is standard usb - it doesn't charge when pluged into a standard USB port on a computer, but it charges great when plugged into a usb car charger or power brick. Motorola could have copied this same setup , they were just lazy. I don't want to carry multiple power bricks with me on trips I want to carry 1.

All of that said - I still love my xoom and if, at the end of the day the only thing I can complain about is the charger, then I'm happy. Now, if they would just get that SD slot working.....

Exactly. I realize my computer USB port only puts out a small charge. But I want a cord that can plug into the USB AC/wall unit I have:

or the USB DC car charger I hvae: