My iPad charger was DOA so I tried my iPhone wall charger and it does charge. It's rated 5 volts at 1 amp which translates to 5 watts. The iPad charger is 10 watts so I would expect the phone charger to charge about half as fast, but at least I can charge it until I get a new one.
The iPad uses the same connector as current model iPods, iPhones, and iPod Touches, so most likely other chargers would work if they use the same connectors.
The writeup in the Apple Online Store for the 10w iPad charger states: "It also charges iPhone and all iPod models with a dock connector." This is encouraging since the iPad charger that ships with the iPad is identical in appearance to the original iPhone chargers and they can easily be confused. The iPhone/iPod charger produces 5v at 1 amp and the iPad charger produces 5.1v at 2.1 amp according to the labels on the units themselves. I wish Apple would make a statement about the suitability of each and any difficulty of mixing them up
That's odd (and a bit frustrating). I just got off the phone with an Apple support rep and he said the charging accessories for the two devices should not be interchanged.
It mainly has to do with the more power requirement of the iPad. All iPod and iPhone models draw up to 5 Watts of USA Power. The iPad draws 10 Watts of USA Power. Also the adapters may have a different handling of the wattage as they are specifically designed for the 5 Watts and not 10 Watts.
So you should use the iPad power accessories instead for the time being until third party ones come out in the coming month that specifically has "Designed for iPad" stamped on the box. One of the few reasons some of us like me are going to wait.
And yet the charging cables fit all three devices (ipad, iphone and ipod). And all devices plug into a USB port: apparently the computer decides how much juice each device needs.
And I am wondering if an iphone or ipod are plugged into the ipad charger will it damage the iphone or ipod?
This seems a bit confusing.
You would think if the same plugs fit all devices that they would be interchangeable.
The fastest way to charge your iPad is with the included 10W USB Power Adapter. iPad will also charge, although more slowly, when attached to a computer with a high-power USB port (many recent Mac computers) or with an iPhone Power Adapter. When attached to a computer via a standard USB port (most PCs or older Mac computers) iPad will charge, but only when it's in sleep mode. Make sure your computer is on while charging iPad via USB. If iPad is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, the iPad battery will continue to drain.
I would like to know why my iPad will not charge from any of my computers. According to the tech specs - http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ - the iPad is able to charge from either "Charging via power adapter or *USB to computer system*" this does not appear to be the case.
What's important is voltage, *electrical pressure*. 5 Volts is what all these devices use.
Amperage, or wattage, is *electrical flow*.
Plugging in a 5 volt, 10 watt charger into an iPhone will only mean the phone will either charge faster or won't use all the current (amperage) available.