Travel Technology - Any experience with Dell Slim Combo Adapter?

I'm looking at purchasing one for my work Latitude D830, specifically because I'd be able to use it on AA with the ports.

My only concern is that the adapter is 65 watts, and the normal adapter is a 90 watt. What should I look out for when using the 65 watt adapter on an airplane?

Thanks in advance...

I have one for my D600. It works great on AA and other power ports. The only issue might be the current draw of the D830. If it exceeds the rating on the adaptor you may be limited to charging while the D830 is turned off.

I've been using mine with a Latitude D430 and it works great. It basically replaced the power adapter that came with my laptop. FWIW, I've only used mine onboard LH C and SK C. No clue as to how it will perform on other carriers. :)

Thanks for your replies! It sounds like I'll be able to at least maintain power even if the battery won't charge. I guess I should be more worried if I'm stuck in a middle seat in Y with the laptop. :)

I can't speak to the 830, but I have the 820 with the 9 cell main battery and the media bay battery.

With those two batteries I can easily get 5 hours of use on battery. So you may not find you need the charger so much, especially if you carry a second media bay battery (which would give you close to 7 hours on batteries).

I haven't played with the 65 watt adapters, so I don't know if it'll run at all plugged into them.

Steve

I've been using mine with a Latitude D430 and it works great. It basically replaced the power adapter that came with my laptop. FWIW, I've only used mine onboard LH C and SK C. No clue as to how it will perform on other carriers. :)

Doesn't LH provide an AC outlet onboard?

For some reason, mine doesn't work on United's empower outlets with my Dell D620. It works great on AC. It also works fine when plugged into the cigarette lighter outlet in my car. I even used an old adapter I had lying around to plug the empower plug into my car 12V outlet, and my laptop powered up. When I plug it into United's empower outlet, the LED lights up on the power supply showing that it is connected, but it just doesn't power up my laptop--it just continues to run on battery. Perhaps United's empower outlets don't provide enough power.

The first time I tried this, I couldn't figure out why my laptop wasn't getting powered up and figured that the adapter was defective. Then when I went home, I did the troubleshooting in my car and made the mistake of taking it on my next international trip because it seemed to be working fine from both the AC and the DC power inlets. On the plane, I still didn't get power to the laptop--neither power to run or power to charge the battery with the laptop turned off.

I still use it for travel because it is smaller and lighter than the standard, and I still have my clunky old AC/DC adapter from Dell that is big and heavy if and when I need the empower outlet to work. One of these days I might call Dell and try to see if my adapter is defective and if a new adapter would help.

I've been using mine with a Latitude D430 and it works great. It basically replaced the power adapter that came with my laptop. FWIW, I've only used mine onboard LH C and SK C. No clue as to how it will perform on other carriers. :)

Does the D430 charge when plugged in, or just run? Does anyone have any experience with the D430 on UA and/or with an iGo adapter?

An update - thanks to all who had responded. My observations:

1. When the slim combo is plugged in and then you turn the computer on, the 830 will give a warning message that you're not plugged in with the normal 90-watt adapter. You then have to answer a simple prompt to keep booting up.

2. Apparently, the slim combo will recharge more slowly, but will still recharge on the plane (or elsewhere). Fortunately, my flights were short enough to where that wasn't a big issue.

3. You may actually need to read the book on this one. The adapter comes with about 6 or 7 different cables and parts. I wish for the simplicity of the ThinkPad adapter.

I would assume that the 430 and 830 would operate similarly...