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User profile for user: RDav
RDav Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Camera USB adapter Power Message

First it must be said I'm a huge Apple supporter. Drink the CoolAid no, I've been mixing it in the back and passing it out for years. My first macs were a IIe and a IIc, and many many others sense. I also know that I should be used to this sort of thing by now. Normally I would let others make comments etc about this and just sit by and watch the outcome from the side lines. For some reason not this time….

I must admit I'm feeling a bit screwed by Apple. I bought my 3G iPad the day it was available and spent a couple of months tracking down a camera adapter kit for it. One of the biggest reasons I made the purchase was to be able to Quickly view my shots in a larger size. It worked beautifully!

I have a SanDisk ImageMate 12 in 1 card reader which is a compact multi card format usb device. Before I upgraded to iOS 4 it worked marvelously. I could take shots with what ever device, with which ever card format, plug the card into the 12 in 1, and keep shooting while it was downloading images to the iPad. Now, I plug the 12 in 1 in and get a message that there isn't enough power to run the device. Yea?!, I might have bought that if it didn't work before the iSO 4 upgrade. But when it works flawlessly for months and then quits working because Apple decides they know better than I do which devices should be used with my iPad #%!*@!!!

Is it a battery life thing? Is it that my iPad may run for an hour less on a charge? Shouldn't that be my decision? How about a message "WARNING use of this device will reduce your run time" and give me the option to either continue using it or not. Don't tell me that it wont work, because that is now obviously a blatant lie. It's dishonest and a lousy way to treat a customer. For a company that want's us to believe that they are so concerned about our user experience it's a terrible way to show it.

Has anyone found a hack to get around this message? Or are those of us caught in this situation left with nothing else to do but wait and hope that the decision makers change their mind(s) and give us back the freedom we had before the NEW iOS?

MacBook Pro i7 17", PowerBook G4 17", iMac 17", iPhone 3Gs, iPad 3G, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Dec 17, 2010 7:55 AM

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20 replies
User profile for user: RDav
RDav Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Dec 17, 2010 9:43 AM in response to RDav

First thank you for the response.

The powered usb hub may be an answer for those situations where power is available. But, when in the field where power is not available…. When indoors where power is available and things are a bit more controlled plugging into a laptop or a desktop would be the preferred setup. While out in the field in questionable surroundings, weather, what ever the situation where power isn't available and one doesn't want to subject a laptop the iPad and camera accessory kit was the hot ticket. In the right case it was almost weather proof as well. It doesn't have the issue with dust and such that a laptop has, it really filled the bill. Face it we're all getting older, unless the alternative in which case this is all mute. Having the ability to quickly proof shots in the field with the iPad was really nice and efficient. Now its back to subjecting a more expensive device to questionable situations.

The real question is why was the power output reduced? Why was it ok to output the higher power in previous versions of the iOS and now in iOS 4 that output needs to be reduced by 80%. I find it hard to believe that some engineer accidentally added or removed an entire decimal place without it being noticed. Thus why?

Message was edited by: RDav
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User profile for user: pvonk
pvonk
User level: Level 6
13,851 points

Dec 17, 2010 9:48 AM in response to RDav

Apple's power limit from 100 ma to 20 ma could only have been prompted by

1) an inadvertent mistake,
2) a realization that the former limit caused problems, thus they had to correct the problem,
3) a diabolical plot to limit the iPad's effectiveness to their gain, in some way.

My bet is on 2.
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User profile for user: RDav
RDav Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Dec 17, 2010 9:58 AM in response to pvonk

LOL!

I agree # 2 makes more sense. But this feels more like a baby out with the bath water or nose despite the face situation. I had ZERO issues with this setup. I did not see greatly reduced run time. I did not notice the device getting even the slightest bit warm. If either of those would have been the case this would be easier to take. But from a users perspective, why?
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User profile for user: PtPhoto
PtPhoto
User level: Level 1
0 points

Dec 18, 2010 7:49 PM in response to RDav

Being a MacAddict..... I too feel let down by Apple. Being a professional photographer, the main purpose of purchasing the ipad was the ability to show clients the work almost instantly in a beautiful medium....my iPad.
Now with the new update, this renders that ability useless! Can I assume that most users are using the iPad in this fashion?

So how long do we think it will take to fix this little blunder......
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User profile for user: Michael Morgan1
Michael Morgan1
User level: Level 7
23,831 points

Jan 5, 2011 7:44 AM in response to Tomo28

I can understand the angst, but can also understand that Apple never claimed to be providing the equivalent to a USB 1.0 or 2.0 port, never guaranteed that anything other than the stated equipment could be used with the dock connection, etc.

My own belief is that two things were in play:
1. They were somewhat surprised by the heavy and immediate use that some people made of that dock connection, connecting ip a wide variety of things, and
2. They realized that unlike in 3.2, where the extra power drain didn't really make that big a difference, in 4.2.1 it now would be more of a factor

What's the best that can be hoped for here? Well, I suppose best of all would be if, after second and third looks, they decided that the difference isn't really that great and they can just return to the status quo ante. That doesn't seem that likely, but it's possible and would be popular.

A user-option selection in Settings could be added, probably along with the proviso that would warn about "... +enabling higher output power will result in a xxx% reduction in (performance and battery life)+ ...". I can't see much of a direct argument against doing that. One indirect argument against would be all of the resultant whining about "Well, if I can have my choice about this, why not also about this and that and that other thing too ...". If you go too far down that path you wind up having to hire some folks out of Redmond WA to come down and design your Settings Menu.

Decide what you want and need, describe and support it as best you can, and send it along via the iPad Feedback form. They won't chat with you, but they are responsive if enough people make a good enough case.
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User profile for user: Chris CA
Chris CA
User level: Level 10
82,440 points

Jan 5, 2011 8:00 AM in response to Tomo28

I bought a third party SD Card reader as it was cheaper and more flexible than the apple one.

How did you plug it into the iPad?
If you used the USB adapter from the Apple Camera Connection Kit, ho wis it cheaper if you had to purchase something additional?
Now it does naff all.

And what does support for the card reader company have to say?
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User profile for user: Michael Morgan1
Michael Morgan1
User level: Level 7
23,831 points

Jan 5, 2011 9:34 AM in response to Rudegar

Rudegar wrote:
well if it's using the usb port adapter then the only requirement they had to follow
was the usb std. and not drawing more then 60mA or whatever ipad's max current feed is

Do you know if Apple ever released any specs for max amperage for 3P/non-OEM devices to work through the USB adapter? Besides that, why wouldn't they simply design to the desired USB standard if they were producing a generic USB- and not iPad-specific reader?

Circle the drain as often as you like, but you'll always come back to the central issue: Non-supported means pretty much exactly that.
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Camera USB adapter Power Message

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