Customer Reviews

Kensington K38047US Mobile Power Adapter with USB Port for Netbooks

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a great replacement charger for Asus eee series netbooks. It's a third the price of an OEM charger, and only a few bucks more than some of the chargers from questionable sources.

I gave it four stars instead of five because it's slightly bulkier than the OEM Asus charger. The USB charging port is probably worth the extra space in my briefcase.

As far as the one-star reviews go: One is from a person who bought this for a full-sized notebook, NOT a netbook, and another is from soneone who had a new netbook that needed a tip that wasn't available yet. (Kensington now sends it for free, per the product description.) The third is from someone who says it died within three months... but it carries a two-year warranty, so getting a replacement shouldn't be a problem.

UPDATE January 6, 2011: HOLY COW! I was planning to buy a couple more as spares, but I found the price had skyrocketed from the $13 and change I paid to $42. Wish I'd purchased those spares long ago.

I purchased this adapter for my Dell mini 10v. There was too much play in the plug which caused the connection to be intermittent. Further, b/c the plug did not fit properly, it put undue stress on the connection (inside the connector).

After much research and communiques w/ Kensington support, this is what I've learned...

The difference between the Kensington universal netbook power adapter and their higher-wattage universal power adapter (for full-sized laptops) is in the a/c to d/c converter ("brick") physical size and wattage capacity only. The plugs sold w/ both universal adapters are *identical*. Kensington has NOT manufactured plugs specifically to fit mini's nor netbooks. IOW, Kensington simply bundled a lower-powered a/c adapter w/ the same plugs sold w/ their original, higher-wattage universal adapter and called it their "netbook universal adapter".

If you have an Kensington universal power adapter that you use w/ full-sized laptops and you just need new or replacement plugs - this is an inexpensive way to get a new and updated set.

If, on the other hand, you need an power adapter for your netbook or mini, look for one that has a plug specifically designed for your netbook or mini power connection. Using ill-fitting plugs w/ insufficient strain relief will eventually damage your computer power connector.

Doesn't have a tip for my eee pc, but it has one that would fit my girlfriend's. There isn't really a list of supported models anywhere handy here that I saw, just says it supports eee pc. So if you've got an eee pc, you've probably got about a 50/50 that this thing will have the tip you need.

Nice size, lightweight, and works well. Plus I can leave my phone charger at home and it will charge my HTC HD2 (from the built in USB jack) much faster than plugging it into my netbook. Plus I got a great deal from a bargain website. I highly recommend it as long as (unlike other reviewers) you verify that it's compatible with your netbook.

This product ships with several interchangeable tips which will work with many brands and models of netbooks and small laptops with screen sizes up to 13 inches. If your computer isn't supported by any of the tips supplied in the box, you may contact Kensington at the number printed on the bag of supplied tips -- 866 908-HELP (4357) -- to request a free tip for your model laptop. However, if the original AC adapter/charger supplied with your laptop is rated at more than 50 watts, the power output from this netbook charger may not provide adequate power to that laptop during heavy use. Laptops with screen sizes 14" and larger probably cannot be powered reliably from this lightweight adapter under all conditions -- even though you may be using an adapter tip that is fully compatible with that laptop's charging port...

I bought this as a spare travel adapter since it was on sale and it works great. Love the added usb port, it charges my phone at the same time. I could of course use one of the netbook usb ports but why clutter up a port when you don't have to? It's much smaller and lighter than the OEM charger too.

I bought one Kensington power supply for my netbook (left my original at a hotel - typical). It was around $12 w/free delivery so I figured what the heck. Worked great so I got another (price down to about $8!), then the original one just stopped working. The light's still on, the connection seems fine, but it won't charge. The return policy is 30 days (of course), but the price is now <$6. So, I ordered 2 and am hoping for the best.

It's so convenient to have multiple cords plugged in (one in the bedroom, one in the living room, one in my travel bag), so I don't need to keep plugging and unplugging. I'm also hoping that with less plugging/unplugging, perhaps these 3 remaining ones will last a lot longer. If I have 3 working power supplies for $32, I figure that's still a great deal.

Great price (bought two for less than I would have spent buying one at a local store) very handy with the side USB plug and seemingly durable. No problems so far. It was delivered quickly, a day or two earlier than I expected. All together, very happy and highly recommend.

I bought one @ Aug 29th, 2009. Got the package around early September. It died on me today. It is roughly 3 months and it died on me for no particular reason (Under normal use......)

Buyers beware

This power adapter does not work with the HP Mini

Apparently Kensington missed the fact HP's netbooks actually use different power tips.

The HP Mini-Note [business version] uses the same size power tip as most of HP's other laptops. This tip is included.

The HP Mini [consumer version] uses a much smaller power tip.
Kensington does not include this power tip.
The package says to use the larger tip. (which of course doesn't fit.)

I call Kensington's 800 # and the guy I talked to wasn't helpful. (He simply said to return it.)
He showed no interest in making sure the correct size tip was made available.