The Staples near my work has the rapid charger for $17.50. Do I need/want two rapid chargers for a single household? I will be picking up two Playbooks during Black Friday Sale.
I think two is a bit overkill, unless both tablets are used a LOT, such that you'd like to recharge both of them more than once a day.
Only reason to consider two is if you prefer the magnetic connector, to avoid wear-and-tear on the USB port from the regular charger. That's not an entirely bad reason to look at having two of them though... I rarely use the regular charger any more, just out of a mild preference for the safer (to the PB) rapid charger connectors.
It's possible to wear down any port, but the micro USB ports are a bit more delicate than most we're used to.
I have no data on how long they'll last etc, but the little tiny contacts in there are simply not as robust as the hefty pins on the magnetic charging port, and the electrical connection relies on mating "leaves" of metal sliding against one another rather than a spring-loaded pin with a convex top, on the charger, being pressed up against a concave cavity in the tip of the matching pin on the PlayBook.
The sliding action will certainly wear down the connector, over some possibly long period of time. I think it would be simple mechanical failure, like something getting bent when you accidentally trip over the cord, which would make the USB port fail before the charging port does.
The Staples near my work has the rapid charger for $17.50. Do I need/want two rapid chargers for a single household? I will be picking up two Playbooks during Black Friday Sale.
staples in us only right?
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It's possible to wear down any port, but the micro USB ports are a bit more delicate than most we're used to.
I have no data on how long they'll last etc, but the little tiny contacts in there are simply not as robust as the hefty pins on the magnetic charging port, and the electrical connection relies on mating "leaves" of metal sliding against one another rather than a spring-loaded pin with a convex top, on the charger, being pressed up against a concave cavity in the tip of the matching pin on the PlayBook.
The sliding action will certainly wear down the connector, over some possibly long period of time. I think it would be simple mechanical failure, like something getting bent when you accidentally trip over the cord, which would make the USB port fail before the charging port does.
I guess this would hold true for the USB port on the phone as well. Correct?
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I am in the United States. There was a thread about this a while ago but I never went to the store until I decided to purchase PB a few days ago (the Staples Black Friday pricing on this made the decision for me).
I've found my micro-usb port on the PB to be looser than when I originally got it, so I wouldn't count on it lasting for several years. I'm now using the charging dock, which I highly recommend. I leave it on my office desk with PB running a clock display and it looks great.
The Staples here had both the Rapid charger and the pod for $17.99, got 'em both. Rapid for when the PB is wearing it's Otter Box, pod for naked time at home (insert naughty comments in postings below).
Picked up the last Rapidcharger cord and pod today at local Staples for $13.50 each. The standard charger was marked down to $3.50 and journal cases were $19.99
Great prices for these accessories as Staples must not want to stock them anymore. The PB lost its unique endcap display and is now parked with the other tablets....but at least this one was functional
Did not see any crowds checking out the kindle fire except for me....or any tablet for that matter....I suspect tablet oversaturation
There are some good suggestions here. As oppose to getting two rapid chargers, I should get one rapid charge and one pod. Is the Pod a rapid charger (i.e., does it use the magnet connector or does it use the USB port)?
Or I should get two Pods and no charger? I never used a Pod before with any of my BB phones. What are some benefits of a Pod?
Pod is the same basic circuitry, charges at same rate, uses same port.
I'd buy one of each. I did, actually. :-)
The pod acts as a stand, letting you have the tablet sitting on a desk, table, or kitchen counter. That would be it's primary advantage, in some situations.
Note that many past threads about potentially bad connectors on either rapid charger. You'd do well to insist on checking it ahead of time, or confirming that you'll be allowed to return it immediately if it's defective. Basically, if on either charger all three little pins do not come up to the same level, it stands a good chance of failing on you, either initially or after some period of use.
We've posted pics in the past.... you may have seen them. Seek and ye will find. (I had one thread with something about how I repaired my rapid charging pod, with pics.)
Pod is the same basic circuitry, charges at same rate, uses same port.
I'd buy one of each. I did, actually. :-)
The pod acts as a stand, letting you have the tablet sitting on a desk, table, or kitchen counter. That would be it's primary advantage, in some situations.
Note that many past threads about potentially bad connectors on either rapid charger. You'd do well to insist on checking it ahead of time, or confirming that you'll be allowed to return it immediately if it's defective. Basically, if on either charger all three little pins do not come up to the same level, it stands a good chance of failing on you, either initially or after some period of use.
We've posted pics in the past.... you may have seen them. Seek and ye will find. (I had one thread with something about how I repaired my rapid charging pod, with pics.)
Thanks for the info.
I was not aware of the bad connectors on the chargers. Since I picked up 2 charging pods and 1 rapid charger, I need to look into this issue.
I was not aware of the bad connectors on the chargers. Since I picked up 2 charging pods and 1 rapid charger, I need to look into this issue.
We can only hope that issue was limited to an early batch, and that the problem was resolved in more recently manufactured units.
Reports from folks who buy them now would be welcome... check the pins, report whether they're all exactly the same height. If not sure, check the aforementioned previous threads for photos, to compare.
Well, I now have two brand new OEM playbook rapid charge cradle/pods and it doesn't look like they are gonna be used (I took one out of the box and used once only, still have box though). So if anyone wants one, hit me up! Say like 20 each plus shipping? Make me an offer. Will trade for normal rapid charger as well if anyone wants. Not really diggin or finding as much use for the cradle style charger myself, nor does my wife unfortunately. We have Acase covers on them that allow them to stand up and dont really need a cradle to do this. The normal rapid charger works with our cases so for us that's the better charger in our case (literally ha!)
We can only hope that issue was limited to an early batch, and that the problem was resolved in more recently manufactured units.
Reports from folks who buy them now would be welcome... check the pins, report whether they're all exactly the same height. If not sure, check the aforementioned previous threads for photos, to compare.
Both of mine have 1 pin that is shorter than the other 2, and both work perfectly on both PBs.
