Belkin Travel Power Adapter Review

by Sarah Meyer

Have you ever taken your notebook home from work or school and realized you forgot your power adapter? Or have you ever wished that you could charge your notebook in your car while you're driving, so it had a full battery? Or maybe, like me, you've tried to stuff four different chargers into one bag while you are traveling and ended up misplacing one because there were so many cords and wires.

Well, the Belkin Travel Power Adapter claims to be the solution to all of these problems. I decided to check out the do it all power adapter to see if it's really useful or if it's just another bulky hassle.

Belkin Travel Power Adapter Specifications

• Guaranteed compatibility for PC laptops under 17"
• USB Power for iPod, PDA's and other compatible devices
• Integrated cord-wrap design
• Battery-expandable
• Input voltage: 100-240V
• Output voltage: 16-24V
• Dimensions: 15.2 x 6.6 x 3.2cm
• Weight: about 15 oz.
• $100,000 connected equipment warranty
• Will send free tip if supplied tips do not work

Design and Aesthetics

Belkin's Travel Power Adapter is white with a gray cord. There is an AC plug and power tip connector attached permanently to either end of the power adapter. The power tip connector is used to connect one of 11 power tips based on the notebook you own.

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The cord is over 64 inches from the AC plug to the base and 72 inches from the base to the power tip so basically you can work on your notebook over 11 ft. from the power outlet.

The car adapter cord is about 20 inches and it attaches to the base of the power adapter. This combination can give you about 7 ft. of length.

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On the base of the adapter is a USB port for devices that can be charged via USB power. For example: an iPod, MP3, PDA, certain cell phones, some cameras, portable DVD player, etc.

The cords can be wrapped around the base and secured by a flexible piece of rubber for easy portability and storage.

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Using the Adapter

The power adapter is pretty simple to use. Depending on where you are (home, car, boat, airplane), plug the AC or DC plug in and choose the power tip that's compatible with your computer. Belkin includes a Power-Tip compatibility list but if you have a newer edition notebook that's not listed in the manual you can check the online version which is updated constantly.

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For USB devices, the adapter must be plugged into a power source for the USB port to be able to charge your device (I know that goes without saying but you never know).

Whether in the car or at home, the adapter worked equally well. I happen to have a Dell - which is the one computer brand that this power adapter will not charge - so I couldn't test how it charged my notebook. I actually got an error message one of the times I plugged the adapter in saying that not only would the adapter not charge my computer but I might not be able to run my notebook normally, although I never had a problem.

Since my Dell was out, we did test the adapter's charging abilities on a compatible computer, my co-worker's Asus R1 Tablet, it took about an hour and half, a little longer than the Asus provided power brick but still decent.

The USB slot worked just fine, and although I don't have many devices that charge via USB port, this adapter could be very handy while in the car or on a plane since it can charge multiple devices.

Also, Belkin has a $100,000 connected equipment warranty. Their policy is that they will repair or replace any equipment (up to $100,000) that is damaged by a surge or a spike in power while properly connected to a power supply.

Conclusion

Belkin's Travel Power Adapter is a great product that you can take with you in the car or use at home. You can charge multiple devices with it and I liked the color much better than a typical solid black. While it is more expensive than getting a simple power brick, it's comparable in price to other multi-use power adapters on the market.

I wouldn't recommend it for Dell notebook owners though. Why spend $120 on a power adapter that won't even charge your computer?

Pros

• $100,000 connected equipment warranty
• Can charge multiple devices, in multiple places
• Portable

Cons

• Won't charge Dell laptops
• Sort of expensive (although comparable with other AC/DC products)

Pricing and Availability

Belkin's Travel Power Adapter is available on Belkin's website for $119.99.