A few days ago, I got a hold on a cheap generic Android ‘gaming’ tablet made by TomTec. I got it without a charger and it is sold for around 100$ and features Android 4.0. The problem with this tablet is that it requires a minimum of 2.1A to charge, without even using it. I have a 1.0A charger, but I noticed that it didn’t charge. It didn’t even charge for 1%.
I searched on Google for this problem, and I noticed that the Apple iPad requires 2.0A to charge while powered on, or else you will get a “Not Charging” warning in the top-right of the screen. But this problem was different. A cheaper tablet, serving Android on it’s dish, and a manual without power specifications. The only thing that hinted me in the manual was ‘Only use the included 2.1A charger’ that it would require 2.1A. Which is above all USB standards: the USB 2.0 specification has a maximum of 500mA, and 3.0 has 1.0A. Apple surely does introduce much hassle and confusion in this project.
The thing is: Last Saturday, I bought a charger with 2.1A of power from ICIDU. It works perfectly, exept for one thing: it didn’t charge. I though the battery was dead, but when I screwed the case open, it wasn’t the battery nor the PCB itself. The MicroUSB was not soldered correctly (the last pin was broken) and while the tablet said it was ‘charging’, it was actually pulling power from the Data pins.
I’m still working on this one, it is a tiny pin, and I soldered it while burning my zoom vision glasses. At the time of writing, it is charging, so stay tuned.
Edit: It works fantastic, even my blog works on it ;).