Most PlayBook owners along with BlackBerry 7, iOS, and Android users have fallen prey to old underpowered cellphone chargers. It is easy to assume that since they all charge via USB or MicroUSB that they should all work. Truthfully there is a critical factor that plays into all mobile chargers that that is the output amperage. With BlackBerry 10 the folks at BlackBerry are recommending at least a 750mA charger to consistently charge the BlackBerry Z10. This is because “Chargers supplying less than 750mA may not provide enough power to sustain a charge on the device during heavy use.”
I have been pushing BlackBerry’s super cheap 1.8A chargers on BerryReview since they push out more than double that charge for your house and car. As a comparison BlackBerry is shipping out a 750mAh charger with the BlackBerry Z10. Terrence sent me over some pictures of old BlackBerry chargers. You can clearly see that some of the older charger do not push out the required 750mAh. Please do not use them with your BlackBerry Z10 or else it will barely charge if at all. You can usually see what amperage your charger pushes out by checking where it says output. It will usually either be measured in milliampre like 750mA or in the case of high amperage chargers like the Premium PlayBook charger it will be measured in ampere like 1.8A (which is 1800mA). The “h” in the “mAh” acronym just stands for hour so “mAh” is “milliampere-hour.”
Here are some old chargers to test your new skills out on:
Gareth ( View Profile) - Posts: 173
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 1:09 PM EST from my BlackBerry PlayBook | OS 2.1.0
I think the most important point here is cross usage from other manufacturers. As an example, I have a family member that was going through the 9000 model like hot cakes, at the end he went through around 4 devices. It later came out that he was using an older motorola charger. Its important to understand just because the other end of the cable can connect to the device does not mean it will work like the original.
RMCCI ( View Profile) - Posts: 4
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 2:10 PM EST
So… Z10 needs at least 750mAh to charge properly. Does that mean that the PlayBook 1.8A charger can be used on the Z10 to charge fully and faster?
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3282
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 2:47 PM EST
Yes you definitely can use that charger. I covered the benefits previously:
http://www.berryreview.com/2013/02/07/charge-your-blackberry-z10-twice-as-fast-with-premium-charger-for-10-shipped/
ofutur ( View Profile) - Posts: 1115
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 5:51 PM EST
The charger for the Nexus 7 is perfect for BlackBerrys: 2A
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1820
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 6:20 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9900 | OS 7.1.0.861
Well well, we don’t actually only look at amp though. Also to consider is the build too.
I came across a list somewhere, it did, however, list apple, samsung, nokia original chargers are good… But some brands like huawei etc had something in their chargers…
ofutur ( View Profile) - Posts: 1115
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 6:56 PM EST
Asus is as good as BlackBerry in my book. That charger works wonders on my 9900 or the Dev Alpha.
By comparison, the iPhone charger I borrowed once was utter crap.
Steve ( View Profile) - Posts: 685
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 10:50 PM EST
I tried a Griffin charger on my PB and it was no go. It puts out 2A but even with the PB USB cord it wouldn’t run it. Not sure what was up with that but regardless…
ofutur ( View Profile) - Posts: 1115
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 9:12 AM EST
Good to know.
One of my phone refused the 2A charger. It probably wasn’t able to handle the amperage.
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3282
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 9:49 AM EST
Some of the Griffin stuff is Apple specific and will only charge Apple devices at anything higher than 500mA. Sometimes using a charge only cable will fix that.
Steve ( View Profile) - Posts: 685
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 1:31 PM EST from my BlackBerry PlayBook | OS 2.1.0
I wondered about that. I originally bought it to charge the wife’s pod when the kids took hers so that makes sense
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1820
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 6:15 AM EST
Forgot to mention, PlayBook chargers output actually range from 1800ma (1.8A) to 2000ma (2A) depending on region.
USA (flip blade) is 1.8A, International is 2A
ofutur ( View Profile) - Posts: 1115
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 8:57 AM EST
Good to know
Steven Not Registered
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 9:46 AM EST
Will charging your device with a high mili-ampere charger break the battery eventually? e.g. charging blackberry 7 device with the 1800mA
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1820
Posted: February 23, 2013 at 3:25 AM EST
Its hard to actually pin-point for the legacy devices;
As mentioned previously by Ronen, the devices have a built in feature to limit the maximum current which i think is 1A.
However, that said, i would usually charge it either off or in the external charging kit. Because using in the phone while charging can heat it up and its not comfortable anyway.
But yes, by right if we charge too fast, it sometimes can hurt the cells.
jonp ( View Profile) - Posts: 67
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 2:30 PM EST
can someone tell me what the output from a laptop would be?
should I not charge my z10 from my laptop usb port?
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1820
Posted: February 23, 2013 at 3:26 AM EST
Again, it depends on a few factors. Usual would be about 500mAh, it can be bumped to 1A.
However, it can go up even more to 2A depending on the driver.
crh Not Registered
Posted: February 19, 2013 at 9:28 PM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.0.9.2372
This comment is mostly personal observation so may have 0 merit.. but I use my phone and or Playbook daily on my commute and I find if I use the high speed chargers vs a lower amperage charger the battery seems to run out much faster.. Maybe I will have to run an experiment to confirm.
Terrence T ( View Profile) - Posts: 1820
Posted: February 23, 2013 at 3:28 AM EST
Yes, that is true in many cases which sometimes in long run, it doesn;t really do good for the cells if its not meant to charge on the higher range of chargers