Kensington is the only company that advertises a "travel adapter" without automotive support. Its previous K33197US was the last Auto/AC/Air combo adapter. Now, the only way to get something that works in the car is with an EmPower-to-cigarette adapter (like the one that comes with the Duracell charger).
Otherwise, if you stand by Kensington's products, you're compelled to buy a power inverter instead (and we already know that's not an ideal solution). The EmPower-to-cigarette outlet adapter is quite hard to come by. Frankly, Kensington should just throw that adapter into the mix, as it already includes it with the K38037US power inverter.
While it's true that this charger is the cheapest of the bunch (~$88), it has a few limitations. The USB port is oddly placed off to the side, which complicates cable management if you prefer to keep the adapter in your bag and spool the power cord. Additionally, this adapter is the only one we're testing with limited voltage output. Instead of determining voltage range based on sense resistors inside the connector's tip, it employs a pin-out system.
There are two SIM-like plastic cards that come bundled. In order to achieve a specific voltage, you need to plug one card into the spring-loaded receptor slot. The 16 V card provides a voltage output between 14-17 V, while the 19 V card outputs between 17-21 V. It seems like Kensington is tiering the voltage output as an additional safety mechanism.
At the same time, you could unintentionally create a problem by using the wrong card, as you'd either get too much or too little voltage. In the case of the former, you could cause real damage to your notebook.
- Keeping Mobile Devices Powered-Up
- Do You Need A New Adapter?
- Hitting The Highway Or Traveling By Air
- Universal Power Adapters: How Do They Work?
- Duracell 90 W Universal AC/Auto/Air Adapter
- Targus Premium Laptop Charger (APM69US)
- Kensington Wall/Air Ultra Compact Notebook Adapter (K38067US)
- Compatibility: Will It Work?
- Which Power Adapter Is Right For You?



That seems unusual. In my house we have 3 different laptops spanning 6 year purchase dates and they all have the exact same plug. Two of the laptops are Latitudes and the other is a Studio XPS. The only difference is that the Studio XPS came with a 130 watt adapter as opposed to 65 watt adapters for the Latitudes. So no gaming with that machine while plugged into the 65 watt adapters.
Actually this sort of standard DOES exist in Europe for smart phones and cell phones, I'm not sure if it includes laptop or netbooks but it might. I'll have to search around.
It seems the bottom line today is buy the OEM adapters if you want to play it safe.
come on Toms, get the BD benchies out already.
So that $800 laptop then requires another $270 to run after 3 years? And this is assuming you don't drop the thing, or break it through normal wear and tear. And laptops do not age as gracefully as desktops because they are generally crap hardware to begin with. Much better to stick with a $300 laptop, and a decent desktop. The desktop will keep up with the times longer and will have less maintenance, while the laptop can be swapped out when need be.
Instead of buying a new Lithium-Ion batt (that would only last about another 2 years anyway), I just use a 12V 7.2Ah Lead Acid connected to the PSU input when I don't have access to a mains supply for an extended period (e.g. on long train journey).
It works cos the PSU output voltage is 15V so 12V is close enough.
cheers!
Phones and GPS devices take less current to charge than notebook batteries. These devices are moving from proprietary chargers to charging via USB. I haven't met a notebook computer yet that could charge off the low USB currents, even if the 5V supply could be pushed up to 12V.
I hope that that is so; it certainly wasn't the last time that I looked at this in detail. At that time, just putting 15V across the charging terminals of the battery and going to sleep would ruin the battery; there was all kinds of logic in the charger to protect the battery.
Have they really built this into the batter now, so that all we have to do is provide a DC source with the right voltage and no other control circuitry?