Tag Archives: ipad

Charge your iPad from any PC USB port & fix “Not Charging” error

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Just a very quick Christmas post. If you’ve got an iPad and you’re wondering why it won’t charge over your desktop or laptop’s USB ports – it’s because by default desktop USB ports only provide 1A of current to connected devices. Any iPad actually needs more than this to charge, hence why Apple give you a special charging plug to charge it.

However, hope is not lost. You can actually get an app for your PC which manually increases the amount of current that your PC’s USB ports provide. It’s called AI Charger and it’s by Asus. Don’t be  fooled though – it will actually work with any computer and not just computers with Asus motherboards.

All you need to do is download the app from the page, install it and give your computer a reboot. When you turn it back on, you should notice that your computer will now charge your iPad (albeit slowly).

This should actually work on any desktop or laptop. Bear in mind, though, that use of this app while using your laptop’s battery may cause excessive wear to your battery. A useful app though, nonetheless.

[ENDED] WIN! £15 to spend on the iTunes store (UK)

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Yes – it’s competition time again! This time, we’re giving away a £15 iTunes gift voucher for you to spend anywhere on the iTunes store. Whether you’re looking to stock up on some new music or just want to grab some cool apps for your iPhone, iPod or iPad – this is the competition for you.

As with the last competition – all you need to do to enter is simply like GEEK! on Facebook (go to the page and click ‘Like’) and then fill in the form underneath.

This competition has now ended. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Keep your gadgets charged away from the plug – Yoobao 11200mAh external charger

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Ever since I got my new phone – the HTC Sensation XE (which I love to pieces) – I’ve had the problem of stupidly poor battery life. Apparently this is an age-old Android problem where many smartphones don’t have the battery capacity to provide a decent level of charge.

With me, being a bit of a tech-head, I’ve got to the point where my phone battery will barely get me through the day. That’s because I spend a fair amount of time downloading and using apps, interacting with social networks, and generally browsing the net. Whilst none of these tasks should be particularly demanding, they do have a massive negative impact on the battery.

One way of solving this problem would be to just stop using my phone so regularly. I have done tests and found that if I’m really frugal with my phone – just using it for the odd text and call during the day – I can make the battery last all day long with some power to spare. But I don’t believe that, when I’ve committed to spending over £500 on a phone in 2 years, I should have to be limited as to what functionality I can use on the go.

So, I had to find a way of keeping the battery charged when I’m out and about. There are many ways of doing this:

  • Obviously the easiest (and cheapest) solution is to look into little chargers like car chargers – which draw current from the cigarette lighter in your car – to keep the battery going strong. Yes, if you spend hours in the car daily (which many people obviously do) then this is your simple solution – but I personally don’t. Also, bear in mind that most smartphones will simply charge via a USB cable – so if you spend most of your working life in an office, then you should simply be able to plug your device into a port on your computer and charge it.
  • You could invest in “green” portable charging solutions – such as solar chargers. Long time readers of GEEK! will know I’ve tested multiple solar chargers in the past – and in many cases they’re absolutely great. However, they do take some time to charge and if you’re not within easy access to sunlight for most of the day, you’re wasting your time.
  • Another simple option would just be to buy another battery for your phone. This is a cheap solution and will work effectively. However, the problem with this is that if you can’t get a charging “dock” for your battery, you have to constantly switch batteries in your phone to make sure each one is charged up. This is a hassle!

The usual solutions weren’t going to work for me, so I had a browse on Amazon and came across an ideal solution. It’s called the Yoobao 11200mAh External Battery Pack. It’s available on Amazon for around about £30.

You might have heard of these external battery packs before. They’re quite simple really – they have a moderately powerful battery inside them and simply provide a USB port to charge any USB device you like. However, this one is very different!

For starters, the battery is insanely powerful. The 11200mAh battery is the most powerful portable battery I’ve ever seen. If you bear in mind that my Sensation XE has a battery capacity of 1730mAh – then this means the battery pack should be able to charge my phone at least 5 or 6 times (minus some inefficiencies).

It also is a dual-port USB charger. This means it can charge two devices at the same time. Not only that, but one of the charging ports is a 2 amp charging port – which means the device is quite capable of charging more demanding devices like the iPad 2.

The device also has an emergency LED light onboard – which is powerful enough to provide illumination when most needed – and because the onboard battery is so powerful, the LED can be (theoretically) illuminated for several weeks on a single charge!

There are also 5 LED power indicators which tell you how much charge is remaining in the device.

I’ve owned my device about a week now and have to say it really is a lifesaver when my phone’s battery is running down – for the sake of £30 it really isn’t a huge price to pay. With it being able to charge more than one gadget and also being capable of charging the iPad and other demanding devices – it’s perfect for any power-hungry user.

Ok, I’ll admit it. I love the iPad 2.

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Yes, I know – I am usually a bit of an apple-basher. However, I have to admit, I have found a pretty big exception.

A close relative of mine recently got her hands on an iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and I couldn’t resist giving it a play with.

Being an iPod touch 4G owner myself, I’m quite familiar with the iOS software – so that was nothing new to me really. However, there are evidently some crucial advances from the iPod touch to the iPad which make it such a joy to use.

First of all – the screen. It is, well and truly, the best touchscreen I have ever used. Full stop. The on screen keypad is just so joyful to use – I’ve never known a keypad which is so easy to type on without making mistakes.

And simple things like web browsing just seem to be so much more fun on the decent 1024×768 screen – although you do sometimes miss the retina display when you own an iPod touch or iPhone.

I’ve never been very happy with the price of Apple gadgets – but I think the iPad 2 makes the starting price of £399 quite justifiable. I still think the iPhone is stupidly overpriced – but I could just about put up with the price of the iPad.

It isn’t quite as portable as I’d like with it feeling quite heavy after a while, but for a home tablet it seems ideal.

What’s all the fuss about the iPad?

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It’s just a giant iPhone, isn’t it?

Ever since Apple announced the iPad, everyone’s been going on about it. Everyone seems to think it’s an amazing gadget that which has never been thought of.

But if you think about it – the technology that is in the iPad has been around for years. We’ve had touch screen computers for ages – and tablet PCs for even longer.

And on the topic of technology – what’s so amazing about it? For what will be the best part of £500 for a decent model, you get a 1Ghz processor for a start. 1Ghz? I’m sorry but we’ve been seeing 1Ghz processors since 2000 and you expect me to pay £500 for a device like that? OK, point taken – 1Ghz for a mobile device is pretty good – but its a pretty big thing so can’t Apple squeeze in any more power?

There are also many other factors that really put me off it. One of my biggest problems with it is that it can’t multitask. What the hell? Hasn’t Apple heard any of our prayers?!! iPhone users have, for months, been wanting the capability for Apple mobile devices to multitask and Apple still hasn’t solved the problem. I find it so annoying that I can’t do anything else when I’m listening to Spotify music on my iPod Touch.

In addition, I don’t understand the design of it. It supposedly has GPS, but I’m not going to carry a huge device round on my travels when I’m going on a hiking trip. In the same respect, I don’t think that UK road laws would allow me to have a huge device sitting on my windscreen mount (if I had a car).

So without going into too much detail – you won’t ever see me with an iPad. I just can’t make sense of it. I thought that in this day and age,  portability and size were key factors – but maybe I’m wrong.

I’ll be interested to know the UK prices, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be available until launch – which is due around March.