Hi all,
List members may find this report from TUAW of interest: one reader
was able to use the iPad's Camera Kit USB connector to attach a USB
keyboard to his iPad and use it to type in text entries. Another
reported use of this kit by Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS was to connect
up his USB headset and Skype a call on his iPad. The devil may be in
the details, since at least one other user commenting in the TidBITS
article mentioned getting a "USB device not recognized" message when
trying his USB keyboard. This isn't the only instance where an
unannounced feature of an Apple product can be made to do double
duty. For example, it's been common to use the USB port of the Apple
AirPort Express WiFi routers to charge iPods, shuffles, and iPhones,
dating back to the time of the first generation iPod Shuffle. This
apparently only works if you have the older AirPort Express models
that were designed for 8.0211a/b/g wireless. By contrast, the current
10 Watt USB Power Adapters for the iPad can be used for charging iPad,
iPhone, iPod, or Shuffle at the maximum current draw for each of these
devices (2.1 Amps for iPad, 1 Amp for iPhone or iPod Touch, and 500
milliAmps for other iPods) according the iLounge review of the iPad
power adapter. Incidentally, the maximum current of 500 mA from the
USB ports of your computer is the reason why your iPhone or iPod Touch
charges more slowly this way compared to when they are connected to an
AC outlet, and why some external battery packs that aren't rated at 1
Amp won't charge your iPhone/iPod Touch very fast.
For more details on the USB keyboard and headset connections through
the iPad Camera Kit, see Erica Sadun's TUAW article:
• "Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I use a USB keyboard or headset with my iPad?"
by Erica Sadun, April 23, 2010:
<http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/23/dear-aunt-tuaw-can-i-use-a-standard-keyboard-or-usb-headset-wit/
>
And for Glen Fleishman's article see:
• "iPad USB Camera Adapter Supports Audio Headsets, Too" TidBITS,
April 23, 2010:
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/11221>
The article also gives a link to his main review of the USB Camera
Adapter. If you read through the comments of the latter review of the
USB Camera Adapter for iPad, you'll find that some users who tried
connecting USB keyboards to the iPad through the Camera Adapter were
not able to get their devices recognized.
Finally, the reference that the 10 Watt USB Power Adapter for iPad is
usable to charge other devices from the iLounge review is: "It
dynamically adjusts its output to the 500mA demanded by iPods, the 1A
of iPhones, or the 2.1A of iPads" from:
• "Review: Apple iPad 10W USB Power Adapter" by Jeremy Horowitz,
April 22, 2010:
<http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/mobile/reviews/apple-ipad-10w-usb-power-adapter/
>
There are several references to the fact that (older) AirPort Express
units can be used as USB chargers. (Most of these date from six years
ago.) Here's a more recent MacWorld article:
• "Charge it on your AirEx" by Dan Frakes, April 23, 2009
<http://www.macworld.com/article/140166/2009/04/expresscharge.html>
Here's a discussion in a forum that indicates the newer AirPort
Express units may not work for this:
<http://gdgt.com/discuss/use-usb-port-to-charge-iphoneipod-vv/>
Wow, I see that Josh's post went out while I was typing this up. So
the main addition I'd point out here is that not all USB keyboards
work with the Camera kit, but there's not enough information to tell
which ones do.
Cheers,
Esther
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