# Leslie's iPad Questions...



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I know, I know, I could probably hunt around here or on the Internet and figure these things out myself, but all you "iPad owners since April 3rd" are the pros and I will tap into your collective expertise. So...

1. I plugged the iPad into the computer. It synced with iTunes (I think) but it said it wasn't charging. Why not? Does it only charge from the plug?

2. How do I get it to sync with my Google calendar. I have the calendar on my iPhone and the iPad synced with my gmail, but no luck with the calendar (so far).

Thanks!

L


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

It will charge from the computer but slooow from my understanding.  The other I'm not sure on even though I did it myself.  I blame it on lack of sleep.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

rho said:


> It will charge from the computer but slooow from my understanding. The other I'm not sure on even though I did it myself. I blame it on lack of sleep.


Thanks, rho. Slow...but it said "not charging." I wonder if I tried plugging it into a different USB port...

L


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

For the calendar, I use an app called CalenGoo. There are a couple others out there as well I think, but I like this one. I haven't tried to use the built in calendar yet, I think I'd have to sync it through iCal on my Mac and I didn't want to do that as i seem to end up with duplicates when i try that way.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

As for the charging, it is charging even though it says it isn't, just at a very slow rate. You need to use the wall plug to get a decent charge. And the iPad wall plug is different from your iPhone one, its 10watts instead of 5. But at least it won't run down the battery when it's plugged in to your computer.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie--

What computer are you trying to charge from? I've heard that it can charge from some Macs but otherwise it "officially" doesn't charge, though others have said it charges very very slowly. Also make sure you're using the USB that came with it, not the one you were using for your iPhone.

I don't believe I had to get an external app to sync with my Google calendar. Let me look...under Settings, Mail, Contacts, Calendar..., you should have the option to add an account, Choose "Other" then the CalDav account. Here's how mine is set up. Under advnced, I have the port as 443.








Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

hsuthard said:


> As for the charging, it is charging even though it says it isn't, just at a very slow rate. You need to use the wall plug to get a decent charge. And the iPad wall plug is different from your iPhone one, its 10watts instead of 5. But at least it won't run down the battery when it's plugged in to your computer.


Yes, I was studying the plugs and I could see they are different, even though they look exactly the same. The ipad one feels a little heavier. Probably to be safe I should put a sticker on it or something.

I really want to figure out the calendar. If it works on my iPhone, it should work on the iPad, right? That just seems logical to me.

3. How do I change the background picture? While it is very pretty, the shooting stars look like scratches on the glass.

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

See my prior post about the calendar...

Also you change the pic in Settings as well, under Brightness and Wallpaper

Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> See my prior post about the calendar...
> 
> Also you change the pic in Settings as well, under Brightness and Wallpaper
> 
> Betsy


Ah, Betsy, thank you! The calendar worked and I would never have figured that one out on my own--well, maybe, but I would have wasted hours. Thanks!!

Now to go find a nice sexy picture for the background. 

edit: for the moment, I went with the Brokeback Mountain theme...


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Ah, Betsy, thank you! The calendar worked and I would never have figured that one out on my own--well, maybe, but I would have wasted hours. Thanks!!
> 
> Now to go find a nice sexy picture for the background.
> 
> edit: for the moment, I went with the Brokeback Mountain theme...


Great! You have an advantage over me as you're very comfortable with iTunes, so I'm glad I could help you with something!

Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Great! You have an advantage over me as you're very comfortable with iTunes, so I'm glad I could help you with something!
> 
> Betsy


Actually, I can't stand iTunes (I find it counter-intuitive, and slow) and so I have gotten into the habit of doing everything off my phone--buying apps and so on. Now I am wondering about syncing between all these devices.

Oh, to answer your other question, my laptop is a Dell, not a Mac.

L


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Honestly, the cable cord makes not one iota of difference IME. I have more than one in my car that I used randomly to charge my ipad with my inverter on my 5000 mile total car trips over the last month and it charges the same. I did use the 10 watt converter though with the 6' cord.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Honestly, the cable cord makes not one iota of difference IME. I have more than one in my car that I used randomly to charge my ipad with my inverter on my 5000 mile total car trips over the last month and it charges the same.


Good to know, thank you.

Is there anyway to move downloaded apps onto the first screen? It seems that they all are on the second screen and even when I make them wiggle, I can't move them. Is the first screen reserved for the Apple apps that came with the iPad?

L


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I prefer to arrange my apps in itunes, just because I can do a bunch of arranging faster than manually doing it. But you can drag them to the first page the same way you do the iphone.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

Thanks for that screen shot Betsy, I'm going to see if I can get my calendar working too. The iPad calendar is so pretty 

Leslie, the charger block does have pale grey writing on it that identifies it, but it is hard to see. I went with colored electrical tape to identify mine. The iPad block says 10w USB Power Adapter.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

hsuthard said:


> Thanks for that screen shot Betsy, I'm going to see if I can get my calendar working too. The iPad calendar is so pretty
> 
> Leslie, the charger block does have pale grey writing on it that identifies it, but it is hard to see. I went with colored electrical tape to identify mine. The iPad block says 10w USB Power Adapter.


I got my calendar working! Thanks!!

Now I'm going to try and get my mail working . . . You're inspiring me Leslie.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

hsuthard said:


> I got my calendar working! Thanks!!
> 
> Now I'm going to try and get my mail working . . . You're inspiring me Leslie.


Thank you, Holly!

Is there anyone here who uses Lotus Notes for mail? Is there anyway on God's green earth to get LotusNotes to sync with the iPad? (I never even contemplated this for the iPhone...)

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Actually, I can't stand iTunes (I find it counter-intuitive, and slow) and so I have gotten into the habit of doing everything off my phone--buying apps and so on. Now I am wondering about syncing between all these devices.
> 
> Oh, to answer your other question, my laptop is a Dell, not a Mac.
> 
> L


Trying to charge from the USB of the PCs is apparently so slow as to be useless.

You can drag apps to the first page, drag to the edge slowly and don't let up til the page changes. You can also move apps to the dock, the bottom line, until you have six there. You can move Apple aps that are already there out, too.

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

hsuthard said:


> I got my calendar working! Thanks!!
> 
> Now I'm going to try and get my mail working . . . You're inspiring me Leslie.


I'm glad my screenshot and post helped!

Betsy


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## Someone Nameless (Jul 12, 2009)

> Yes, I was studying the plugs and I could see they are different, even though they look exactly the same. The ipad one feels a little heavier. Probably to be safe I should put a sticker on it or something.


How do they look different because I may have mixed mine up. I thought the cables were the same for the iPad and the iTouch and the difference was either in the usb port or the wall adaptor. Now I'm wondering which one of which I'm using.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Pretty sure the cables are exactly the same. I've been using them interchangeably, anyhow. The plugs are the pieces that determine voltage.


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## JeffM (Nov 22, 2009)

Leslie, 

We're all pretty much getting the same charging message. You'll find if you leave it plugged into your USB slot overnight with the screen off you'll have a full charge in the morning.

It might not draw enough power to charge with the screen on. Off is no problem at all.

If you need a quick charge, use the ac adapter.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

JeffM said:


> Leslie,
> 
> We're all pretty much getting the same charging message. You'll find if you leave it plugged into your USB slot overnight with the screen off you'll have a full charge in the morning.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jeff. I usually charge all of my devices "on the plug" anyway, so this will be just one more to add to the group.

L


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## Pushka (Oct 30, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I know, I know, I could probably hunt around here or on the Internet and figure these things out myself, but all you "iPad owners since April 3rd" are the pros and I will tap into your collective expertise. So...
> 
> 1. I plugged the iPad into the computer. It synced with iTunes (I think) but it said it wasn't charging. Why not? Does it only charge from the plug?
> Thanks!


Ah, I got my ipad yesterday (well, hubby's really but he doesnt realise it is actually mine ) and I noticed this too. Thanks for asking and as you say, good to ask the experts here and not go searching for ages on the internet.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

If you look at the very tiny print on the plugs, the iPad plug says "10W" and the iPod plug says "iPod".  

As far as cords go, don't think it matters.  I'm currently using my cord from my first nano which I bought a few years ago and IIRC cord from iPad.  I have four other cords that I've never used from 2 nanos, iTouch, and iPhone.


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## ibrewalot (Dec 22, 2009)

I had hoped with the new computer I just built that the USB 3.0 ports on the new motherboard would actually charge the iPad, but even it says "not charging".  I find if I leave it plugged into the USB port on my computer at work in between meetings I gain a few percent of charge.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I just got back home after 5 days on the coast......Leslie....your iPad arrived early? Yippee!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

USB ports are designed as data-transfer devices. It can furnish a limited amount of power to run things, but being used as a charging source isn’t even the design specs, if I recall correctly. The fact that the port *can* charge devices is unintended.

The USB spec calls for the ability to share a maximum of 500mA ( .5 amps) among 4 devices. The iPad charger has a maximum of 10 watts output at 5 volts, or 2000 mA (2 amps). See where the problem is? The iPad requires 4 times the power to charge in the time specified as a standard USB port can furnish (if only one device is plugged into it).

This is why the iPad charger can be used with an iPod: it has more than enough output than is required (and more won’t hurt). And it explains why an iPod charger or your USB port won’t do a good job on the iPad..... it's only generating one-fourth the power needed.

I don't know if  USB port will in fact fully charge an iPad if left connected for an extended period of time, but whatever charging it can do is going to be so slow as to not really be very useful (unless the iPad is turned off). I've notice that the percent charge indication on my iPad goes up only about 1 percent after a long time of being connected to the USB port.


Mike
(aiming this at a non-technical audience)


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Ah, thanks Mike. So...it's okay to charge my phone with the iPad charger but not the other way around? Good to know. Thanks!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> I just got back home after 5 days on the coast......Leslie....your iPad arrived early? Yippee!


Yes, very exciting although I woke up this morning and it has disappeared! Given that the computer was still on the table and the silver was still in the drawer, I think perhaps it has migrated upstairs to my daughter's room...back to playing WwF on the iPhone! LOL

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Souns like she needs a(nother) graduation present!  

Betsy


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Ah, thanks Mike. So...it's okay to charge my phone with the iPad charger but not the other way around? Good to know. Thanks!


Well, it's OK both ways, it's just that you won't get much of a charge if you use the iPod charger on the iPad. 

Note that as far as I know, the charging circuitry that monitors the charge is in the device itself, not the charger. Some chargers have the limiting circuitry in them, not the device being charged. Where you can get into trouble is using a mismatch of a charger that does not have the circuit built-in to charge a device that does not have the circuit built-in. You can cause a battery to explode this way. This is why I caution people not to just plug in any old charger to your expensive device, even if it has the correct output voltage.

Mike


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

This isn't really a question, more of a comment...

I bought my iPad online on 6/6/10, the day of the deadline for the unlimited 3G service. Today, I got an email from Apple saying I qualified for the unlimited plan. So I went ahead and upgraded. I may end up cancelling it if I find it is not worth it, but it seemed better to give it a try for a month or two rather than pass on it completely. Something about "unlimited" appeals to me...

L


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## kindlemama (Jan 5, 2010)

Leslie said:


> This isn't really a question, more of a comment...
> 
> I bought my iPad online on 6/6/10, the day of the deadline for the unlimited 3G service. Today, I got an email from Apple saying I qualified for the unlimited plan. So I went ahead and upgraded. I may end up cancelling it if I find it is not worth it, but it seemed better to give it a try for a month or two rather than pass on it completely. Something about "unlimited" appeals to me...
> 
> L


That's exactly how I felt, Leslie, and why I rushed to try to get an iPad when I found out about the fees changing. (And why my son bought his also.)

I think that's great (maybe an omen?) that you were able to get on the unlimited plan at this late date. At least now you can take a look at your usage for a few months, and then downgrade later if you want. It's nice to have options!


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