I too wonder about a bigger charger—BUT, charging faster would generate more heat I believe. There’s always a trade off. Apple had to choose a balance, and maybe we’d like some other balance even less...
To really decide how “terrible” this “problem” is, a concrete definition of “heavy load” is needed. How often will a given user run into a time period where charging isn’t happening? And how long will that time typically last? How long, in other words, will they be using a load that is “heavy enough” to be an issue?
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I noticed the charging problem. I'm going to call Ape and see what they say. I plugged my iPad into my computer during initial setup / syncing and noticed I actually lost 2% power in that hour.
If this is the case, I'll be returning mine!
Computers don’t always deliver the full power of Apple’s charger.
When I sync with my old white iMac, my iPad 2 doesn’t charge (nor does it lose all that much). There just isn’t sufficient power from the USB port.
Loss of 2% in an hour isn’t critical; it would take over 2 full days to drain, and your synch will be done long before that. I don’t think the issue you’re seeing is the “heavy load” issue, which would be seen in high-end games, for instance (and is kind of to be expected—physics is physics).