[N.Ebrahim]

The Blackberry playbook comes with a similar looking charger to most blackberry chargers, but you'll notice it comes with an orange tip; not a black tip!

Why?? Because it's a totally different voltage!

A regular blackberry phone charger has an output of 5Volts // 700mA.
A blackberry playbook charger has a higher output of 5Volts // 2A (2000mA).

Basically it provides almost three times the power! Now this does mean its a rapid charger! But not so simple!

If your charge your blackberry playbook with a regular black charger it will charge the playbook safely, but take about three times longer!!

On the other hand charging your phone with an orange charger it will load it with three times the power! Now the problem is that older blackberries cannot handle this level of power coming in; SO IT WILL RUIN THE BATTERY!!!

All phones newer then the following are fine to charge with the orange coloured charger:

Bold 9780 or newer
Curve 8520 or newer
Pearl3G 9105 or newer
Torch 9800 or newer.

All older phones will get ruined by the charger! The battery will end up getting fried! Maybe not straight away, but don't use it! Be safe!!

[jossix]

please post a link from a reliable source ie Rim which says this should not be done

[anon1459534]

My PlayBook charger doesn't have an orange tip. Is this something recently changed?

[Matt J]

The voltage is the same. The current is different. The batteries are intelligent, it shouldn't be a problem.

[walcolm]

are u sure about this?

there are threads that have actually encouraged use of the playbook charger on the BB to reduce charging time

[N.Ebrahim]

The reason i know this is i have been using an old Bold 9000. In one charge it totally fried the battery. On contacting RIM this is what they told me!

I have asked them to send me an explanation for this, or an official word from them, so i can forward it to all you nice people as proof! They said they are sending me a new battery for my bold (after an hour of shouting at them for not informing people about this) and it should be fine. But i am not impressed by this!

If i am wrong, i'll start a new thread screwing at the gentleman who told me this over the phone, and the way RIM operates!

[jfs101]

All the Old Bolds use the same battery, so how will the 9780 handle it and the 9700 not? Anyways, I never liked the idea of using the Playbook charger for my phone exactly for what you mentioned.

[lovemyberry500]

I can only speak from my recent experience. I purchased a $39.00 multi-blackberry charger for the pb to use at the office; the box says "charges playbooks". It took 8 hours to charge from 20% to 70%. The pb charger that came in the box takes 2.5 hours to go from 20% to 100%. That tells me there is a difference in chargers. The $39.00 unit is going back!

[TheScionicMan]

The reason i know this is i have been using an old Bold 9000. In one charge it totally fried the battery. On contacting RIM this is what they told me!

I have asked them to send me an explanation for this, or an official word from them, so i can forward it to all you nice people as proof! They said they are sending me a new battery for my bold (after an hour of shouting at them for not informing people about this) and it should be fine. But i am not impressed by this!

If i am wrong, i'll start a new thread screwing at the gentleman who told me this over the phone, and the way RIM operates!

The Bold 9000 is mini-USB, not micro-USB.

The amperage is higher, the voltage is the same.

The same battery technology that will stop the BB charger will also stop the PB charger.

If it were problematic, I don't think RIM would sell a rapid charger for the BB, would they?

BlackBerry-Premium-Charger - RIM US

[TheScionicMan]

I can only speak from my recent experience. I purchased a $39.00 multi-blackberry charger for the pb to use at the office; the box says "charges playbooks". It took 8 hours to charge from 20% to 70%. The pb charger that came in the box takes 2.5 hours to go from 20% to 100%. That tells me there is a difference in chargers. The $39.00 unit is going back!

The specs are also listed on the charger, which should also tell you that there's a difference...

[psiclne]

The Bold 9000 is mini-USB, not micro-USB.

This is funny

[bounce007]

My PlayBook charger doesn't have an orange tip. Is this something recently changed?

Neither does mine... what orange tip?

[BravoZuluDelta]

Good effort but the information isn't totally correct. The voltage is the same, the amp output (current) is what is different. The maximum charging rate for lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries is 1C, where 'C' correlates to the capacity of the battery. Taking a 1500 mAh battery, a charge rate of 1C would be 1500 mA, or 1.5 A. Now, lithium-polymer batteries CAN be rapid charged slightly over 1C, but this does reduce the life of the battery. An even better charge rate would be 0.7C, or 1.05 A for that 1500 mAh battery. This also means that lithium-polymer batteries cannot be charged in less than an hour without compromising battery health.

This information is well understood in the hobby RC world where lithium-based batteries are in wide usage. I've posted these warnings both on the CrackBerry article on using the PlayBook charger as well as in these forums in the past. I have read charger reviews where the CrackBerry reviewer referred to the charger output rating in "mAh," so I seriously question their expertise in such matters.

[Deathcommand]

Orange tip?

Lolwut?

[grahamf]

the Blackberry charger is 5v700mA
the USB specification is 5v1A
Powered USB hubs are usually 5v2A, which is what the rapid charger is
never had a problem with powered hubs

[BravoZuluDelta]

USB 2.0 specification is 500 mA

USB hubs are rated as a combination of all ports. This 2 A is split between all the available ports, and no single port is able to draw the full amount.

USB 3.0 specification is 900 mA, which is still below the 1C charge rate. Even then, I'm guessing the port will default to a maximum of 500 mA when a legacy USB 2.0 device is connected.

[knightfall]

Whats with this orange tip? I dont have that either.

[X04D00]

They don't even use the same port. I'm not sure how you managed to plug the playbook charger into your BB 9000.

[grahamf]

They don't even use the same port. I'm not sure how you managed to plug the playbook charger into your BB 9000.

...because he's using the charger that came with the Playbook, and NOT the rapid charger (which uses the dedicated charging port)

[X04D00]

...because he's using the charger that came with the Playbook, and NOT the rapid charger (which uses the dedicated charging port)

I'm confused. I have the charger that came with the Playbook, as well as an old BB 9000 and the port is not the same.

[ilker-uk]

pb has higher cap. batt hence 1c charging is recommended 2000ma batt=2A
you can charge high quality batts 2c but company choose 1c charging rate so smaller capacity bb battery charge with higher charging rate pb charger can be dangerous !
I charge lipo batts every week for my RC touring car so I know the batts quite well...
also charging with high amp lower the life span of your battery...

[grahamf]

I'm confused. I have the charger that came with the Playbook, as well as an old BB 9000 and the port is not the same.

hm... does the cord plug intio the USB port (left) or rapid charge port (right) on the PB?

[X04D00]

hm... does the cord plug intio the USB port (left) or rapid charge port (right) on the PB?

It stands to reason that the USB cable would plug into the USB port. The rapid charge port is for a dock/stand.

[RWD]

As far as I am aware, whether you have a 500mA or 500,000mA charger, the device will determine the current flow. Hence you can connect a 100W lightbulb to the 120V national grid, capable of providing almost unlimited current (A or amps) or connect it to a dinky little 1kW, 120V gasoline generator, and it will draw around 0.9A or 900mA regardless. Same with a battery except that the battery electronics will limit the current to the maximum allowable for the particular battery. A cellphone battery does not draw constant current. It has a high initial rate, and as it becomes more and more charged it will reduce the current flow to suit, until it reaches full charge at which point the electronics will reduce the current to a mere trickle, enough to maintain. This is why you can leave your BB plugged in overnight or for days at a time without exploding the battery.

With a higher "overhead" of current available from the PB charger, possibly the phone may allow a higher rate of current flow within its programmed algorithms (aka fast charge).

Possibly in a much older phone with less sophisticated electronics, it may be unable to fully limit the fast charge current draw. but more likely the battery in that older phone was near death anyway and the fast charge just finished it off.

[FF22]

There is a separate RAPID CHARGER is is like a larger ac adapter but ends in a small three-pin magnetic "plug." It probably contacts the same location as THE DOCK but it is just a charger plug.

https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=XFEc5ap5

and you tube