Are you tired of your notebook running out of power away from a wall wart? We're looking at three universal adapters able to get your battery charged again, whether you're on the road, in the air, or sitting down next to an AC plug.
If you consider yourself to be a road warrior, you need a way to keep your notebook running when when you're away from a wall socket. And that's regardless of whether your primary battery has the chops to keep you operational all day long. Put simply, most folks can't count on a day's worth of up-time. So, it's important to have a solution in place for putting a bit of pep back into your mobile platform during your afternoon siesta.
What do you need in order to keep your notebook fully functional? If you're in a car or on a plane, you need a cigarette lighter receptacle or an EmPower plug, along with a compatible power adapter. Most system vendors (like Dell and Lenovo) offer travel adapters, but they can get pretty expensive. Worse, they aren’t always compatible with multiple generations of products.
Lenovo 90 W AC/DC Combo Adapter (P/N: 41R4494)
For example, when IBM moved from 16 V to 19 V, timed to coincide with Intel's Pentium-M to Core 2 Duo transition, the company adopted a different plug size. That meant the older AC/DC combo adapter (P/N: 73P4502) wouldn't work with the newer hardware. Owners of more recent Lenovo notebooks can use the current AC/DC combo adapter will find that it's backward compatible through the use of a different plug tip.
Traveling Headaches
If you travel overseas, you probably use plug adapters as well, since AC sockets differ from one region to the next. Currently, most system vendors arm their mobile offerings with 110-240 V power adapters, which means that they're universally compatible, so long as you have the right wall connector. A notebook sold in the U.S. might include the same power brick as one in Europe, but they two systems will come with different power cords.
If you're traveling abroad with a power adapter that isn't 110-240 V-capable, there's a good chance you need a voltage converter or an entirely new brick, depending on where you're going. Travel adapter kits for cars and trains cost up to $100. So, if you aren't interested in making that investment, a power inverter is your only other course of action. Planes are another matter entirely.
There is no universal power plug standard used within the travel industry. Even in a single airline's fleet, the same model of plan might use different plugs depending on its configuration. For example, there are four different 737 configurations flown by Alaskan Airlines; one uses cigarette lighter receptacles and one employs the EmPower connector.
- 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?