USB Charging Delemma

Scenario: We have a multitude of needs for charging high output USB devices in our home. 5 iPhones, 2 Blackberries, 2 iPads, 4 Kindles, 4 XBox remotes, 3 Bluetooth Headsets...... UGH! and... I've tried power centers (idapt - that has its own terrible story) but everyone wants their devices in their rooms, AND my wall warts keep disappearing

What's the solution? Has anyone successfully tried to replace outlets with USB 'enabled' outlets? Power strips? USB power over Cat-5?

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Outlet-Surge-Protector-USB/dp/B004CLYJ0U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346679488&sr=8-3&keywords=Belkin+usb

These are highly recommend from slick deals

But they show 1.6A charging capacity, is that EACH or total? You can't charge an iPad and a iPhone (4 and above) with only 1.6A They EACH need 1.2A. I've bought enough 'all in one' systems that are now in the junk pile because USB power requirements are eeking up.

My wife and I were just talking about that yesterday - we had 2 iPad chargers in the kitchen, one on each nightstand, and one at the Master Bathroom Vanity; and right now, 3 of those are missing.

My thought was to put in a few of these in 3 or 4 key locations.

Although the next irritation that's about to come, is that for the next generation of iDevices they're rumored to be changing the dock connector making the chargers I have spread throughout the house obsolete and now having to manage multiple chargers until everything gets upgraded.

Apple is changing the port for their devices, it's already a done deal and the supplier chain has already geared up for the production of the next I-devices.

I'm not a fan of the built in USB chargers at the moment. I think there's a bit of a curve that still hasn't been worked out for their implementation as of yet.

Although I cannot fully confirm, I have read reviews that yes, people are charging an iphone WITH an ipad, simultaneously with the above.

These are highly rated on slickdeals... I'm on my mobile so you can try googling the deal

Mike-ma said:

But they show 1.6A charging capacity, is that EACH or total? You can't charge an iPad and a iPhone (4 and above) with only 1.6A They EACH need 1.2A. I've bought enough 'all in one' systems that are now in the junk pile because USB power requirements are eeking up.

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I can charge both an iPad and iPhone at the same time. Whether they both get 1.6 amps I am not sure, but the iPad shows "charging".

+1 on the in wall receptacle/usb outlets. a few manufacturers make them. they can't get lost/taken. we put them in the kitchen, office and master bedroom

Just bought a Leviton T5630 at home depot... Will report back!!

Well, Leviton lied. The USB power does not exceed .5 amps. I tested the outlets and I could immediately tell they were not outputting anywhere near the 1.2a the iPad needs to charge. I created a charging only cable by shorting d+ and d- and the iPad goes into high power mode, then shuts down because there isnt enough amperage available. The cable works fine in my iPad brick.

I'm not sure why they would say 2.1 amp when they can only output less than 1a total.

Mike-ma said:

Well, Leviton lied. The USB power does not exceed .5 amps. I tested the outlets and I could immediately tell they were not outputting anywhere near the 1.2a the iPad needs to charge. I created a charging only cable by shorting d+ and d- and the iPad goes into high power mode, then shuts down because there isnt enough amperage available. The cable works fine in my iPad brick.

I'm not sure why they would say 2.1 amp when they can only output less than 1a total.

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Very odd results judging from these Amazon reviews.

You aren't trying to charge two tablets at the same time right?

*USB Ports are not intended to charge two tablets simultaneously.
If the devices combined power requirements exceed the power capacity of the USB Ports, the charger will automatically shut down to protect your devices. To charge two tablets use the high power USB Port and the Tamper-Resistant Receptacle.

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Oops. I take that back. In the FAQ on the Leviton website it says to use the RIGHT port for high speed charging and the left port for normal devices. It also says it in the insert but i didnt see it until I read it (who reads those things anyway) It would be so much better to have two high speed but I guess heat would be an issue. One outlet installed, let's see how well it does long term before buying more.

I just buy a lot of multi-port wall warts and sync cables. Apple sync/charge cables are a dime a dozen (almost literally) on eBay, and the quality seems fine to me. I also purchased some dual USB port wall warts off eBay, but their quality seems suspect as I've had a couple failures.

I bought one of these off Monoprice and it seems good, though flakes out a bit when I have 4 devices attached:
http://www.monoprice...&seq=1&format=2

I have key locations around my house where I'll put some charge cables (kitchen counter, master bed, kids rooms, etc.) - and it works great for us. I wire tie / screw them to the back of bureaus, etc. so that they're not easy to remove. I put them in locations that I can make "semi-permanent" so that they don't disappear.

Not sure I'm ready to have USB ports in an in-wall outlet yet. Don't think I want to lose an outlet (like the Leviton unit) and the quality of that other one on Amazon seems kind of poor.

That's a bit of a shame. I spent some more time looking at a whole bunch of the options available and their specs and reviews; in the end I'm not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge on any of them! In my kitchen for instance, I have a habit of charging 2 iPads at once - which doesn't appear to be possible with any of these. And even if I'm just doing a phone and an iPad or two phones, I still want the super fast charge time that the iPad chargers give me.

Hopefully someone will find a winning solution!

monoprice has 2 amp 4 port chargers for like $7, on the ones i have it will give all 2 amps to one plug if that is all that you have plugged in, they are a couple years old but they probably work the same still. you could just tape over the other 3 ports so only one gets used, i just bought a whole box of the cheap ones that i use for phones and other small devices and about a billion micro usb cords. it cost me less than $50 and i never have to worry about needing a charger. you could also hack a usb plug onto a cheap 5v wall wart you can get those in decent amperage.....or if you wanna charge a entire house worth of stuff you can hack up a pc power supply for 20-30A of 5v power