I recently picked up a dock and charger on eBay. Here are my thoughts.
The dock is a 3 inch square fairly dull black plastic unit with a rubber base. On the back is a connector port (cable not included) and an audio out jack. When I received the dock it rattled a little. I removed the rubber pad and found four screws. After removing the screws the bottom plate separates from the main housing. Inside are two small circuit boards joined with a ribbon cable. There is also a large piece of metal that acts as a counterweight. This must have come loose in shipping and was the cause of the rattle. It was easily put back in place. The iPad feels secure in the dock and it is heavy enough that it doesn't move when the iPad is touched. The dock costs about $6.
Edit: one other thing about the dock, if you have a skin or shell on you iPad, it will no longer connect in the dock.
The charger is a small white plastic 1 inch cube. There are two issues I have found with it. One is the prongs don't fold so may be liable to bend while in a backpack. The second issue is more serious. The charger is advertised as 10 watts but does not give sufficient power to charge the iPad while its awake so you can't use and charge your iPad at the same time. I suspect its output is closer to 5 watts. The charger does not get warm in operation. It costs about $3.
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![P1010599.JPG]( "P1010599.JPG")
![P1010596.JPG]( "P1010596.JPG")
The dock is a 3 inch square fairly dull black plastic unit with a rubber base. On the back is a connector port (cable not included) and an audio out jack. When I received the dock it rattled a little. I removed the rubber pad and found four screws. After removing the screws the bottom plate separates from the main housing. Inside are two small circuit boards joined with a ribbon cable. There is also a large piece of metal that acts as a counterweight. This must have come loose in shipping and was the cause of the rattle. It was easily put back in place. The iPad feels secure in the dock and it is heavy enough that it doesn't move when the iPad is touched. The dock costs about $6.
Edit: one other thing about the dock, if you have a skin or shell on you iPad, it will no longer connect in the dock.
The charger is a small white plastic 1 inch cube. There are two issues I have found with it. One is the prongs don't fold so may be liable to bend while in a backpack. The second issue is more serious. The charger is advertised as 10 watts but does not give sufficient power to charge the iPad while its awake so you can't use and charge your iPad at the same time. I suspect its output is closer to 5 watts. The charger does not get warm in operation. It costs about $3.
