Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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71 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Juice answered my prayers!, September 16, 2003
If you're a frequent business traveler, you will probably benefit greatly from the Juice power adapter. The Juice provides power for your laptop for both AC and DC power. You can plug it into the wall, a car outlet, or either style of airplane outlet. And, what's more, is that with the optional Peripheral Power System, you can SIMULTANEOUSLY charge your cell phone or PDA. The Juice is like having 4 (or 6) chargers in one. Imagine, instead of bringing two power bricks (your AC Laptop Adapter, your DC/Airplane power adapter), an AC Cell Phone Charger, and a Car Cell Phone Charger, you can now do it with just ONE brick. I recently purchased my Juice, and it truly is everything it claims to be. Another great feature about the Juice is that it comes with a wide variety of "tips" - you just change the tip and you can plug into a different type of laptop. This is handy when you upgrade to a new laptop, the juice will still work with it. Or, if you have two laptops from different manufacturers, just switch easily between two tips. One small concern I have about the tips, however, is that they slip on/off very easily, and do not lock in place on the cord. When unplugging it from my Laptop, for example, the plug came out of the tip, leaving the tip still attached to my computer. Not a big deal, though, but something to be aware of. If you lose the tip, your whole trip will be ruined! (If, for some reason the Juice does not come with a tip that is compatible with your laptop, they will send you one free of charge). As for the carrying pouch, it's nice that they include the pouch to help hold everything together. Additionally, all of the cables come with velcro ties - a nice touch. The pouch is a little overstuffed, especially when you add the extra cell phone charging cord...that's a total of four cables and a brick in one little pouch. And if you add more than one tip, it's pretty tight. It does all fit, but does not seem like the most efficient organization. I opted to store my cables in a RoadWired Deluxe Cable Stable instead. Specifications:
AC Input: 100-230 V ~2A 50/60 Hz
DC Input: 11.75-16 VDC ~8A MAX
Continuous power output: up to 70 watts
Safety features: over voltage protection, current limit, over temperature protection, short circuit protection
Unit dimensions: 5.40"L x 2.15"W x 0.85"H
Unit weight: 7.5 oz.
Cord lengths:
AC Input: 3.0'
DC Input: 3.0'
DC Output: 6.0'
Peripheral Powering System power output: 7.5 watts DC max
Peripheral Powering System cord length: 3.0'
Warranty: 2 years Mobility Electronic's Product Info Page:
http://www.igo.com/mapfiles/juice.asp
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good idea - poor design, December 19, 2003
By A Customer
While the iGo Juice is a great idea and potentially useful for travellers, after 4 uses the end that connects to the PC adapter snapped right off. The design of the tip is far too flimsy especially for travel. (Two of the four uses were at home, two on the road)Calling technical support didn't help either - no return call after two attempts. Good idea - poor design, not great customer service. If Mobility improve their design, I'd certainly consider trying again. But until then - back to one plug per gadget!
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30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over-priced for what it includes and does, October 5, 2005
I have the iGo Juice^70 model PS0055. This is a three-in-one adapter -- AC, vehicle, airplane -- that can power and charge your notebook computer. With an optional accessory, you can also charge another mobile electronics device, such as an MP3 player, a cell phone, or a PDA. In other words, the Juice can charge at most two devices: a notebook, plus one other small gadget. Unlike what some other reviews have said, the Juice cannot power/charge more than two things at a time.
The Juice comes with 10 tips for a variety of notebook computer brands, from Compaq and HP to Fujitsu to Panasonic. Unfortunately and unforgiveably, no tips is included for the popular Sony and Toshiba notebooks. You can call iGo to request a free Sony- or Toshiba-compatible tip; whether they'll actually mail it to you is something I can't verify. (There doesn't seem to be a way to make the request on their website.)
In addition to the heavy brick-style power converter/transformer ("adapter"), you get an AC cord, a vehicle/airplane combination cord, and a notebook input cord. Let me explain. The AC cord and the auto/air cord bring source power to the Juice brick; i.e., you plug one of them into the approriate power outlet and also into the Juice brick. The notebook input cord then goes from the Juice to your notebook, with the correct power tip attached. Be sure to use the correct tip! Not only is it a question of size and fit, but also polarity and probably also voltage control. Unfortunately, iGo's tips are poorly made and there are many reports of poor fits. (Everything in the package is made in China.)
(Tip: even though the Juice comes with an insert of notebook compatibility charts, be sure to go to the iGo website for updated and correct compatibility check! The charts have a number of mistakes. For example, it says my Fujitsu C2210 notebook should use Tip 11, whereas in reality it's Tip 3 that will work, something that's correctly stated on the iGo website.)
On the notebook input cord is a connection point for an optional secondary powering system. You can buy one of these on iGo's website for about $30. With this and an appropriate tip (another $10, not included in the secondary system), you get a secondary adapter, i.e., an adapter for the Juice adapter! This secondary adapter then allows you to charge/power your cell phone or PDA or MP3, one at a time, each with its own corresponding tip. For example, if I were to get a tip for my Sanyo SCP-8100 cell phone, I'd have to buy an A02 tip, in addition to the secondary system (which is called "DualPower Accessory for Mobile Electronic Devices" on iGo's website).
OK, the Juice works as advertised. It can get hot during operation. My gripe regarding its design is it's rather bulky, like a brick, and a bit heavy at 7 oz. without the cords. The traveling weight -- the brick plus the three cords -- weigh at least a whole pound. iGo does give you a cheaply made pouch to store them. Now, if you get the secondary power system in order to charge/power another gadget, the secondary adapter will weigh at least 4 or 5 oz., excluding its own power cord!
Again: out of box the Juice cannot power any cell phones, PDAs or MP3 players. You must purchase an additional secondary adapter and the right power tips. I simply cannot how some reviewers lied about or omitted this important hard fact about the Juice.
My biggest gripe is how expensive this whole thing is. I paid over $100 for the Juice and the special tip for my Sharp Actius MM20 ultralight notebook. Then I found out in order to power my Sanyo cell phone or my HP iPaq Pocket PC PDA, I'd have to buy a secondary adapter plus one tip for each! The additional costs, and weights, can add up quickly. Not to mention the headaches of managing all the power tips.
Let me say this: I regret my purchase of the iGo Juice. The small AC adapter that came with my Sharp Actius MM20 weighs a mere 2 oz. The AC adapter for my Sanyo phone is a mere 1 oz. Together they take up far less space and weigh far less than the Juice brick alone, not to mention I don't even have a secondary iGo adapter yet. Nor do I plan to buy one. (So right now I can only charge one notebook at a time. I still need to carry the Sanyo and iPaq adapters.)
My advice: don't waste your money, seriously. If you need a vehicle adapter, get a cheap one from Radio Shack or direct from your otebook manufacturer. The airplane plug in the Juice package is useless as most modern airplanes accommodate regular power plugs. The Juice package, for its high price, doesn't even include world outlet adapters, so you can only use the AC cord in the U.S.
A very poor value IMHO.
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