Is Igo Juice the only way to power up a laptop on a plane?
 

I have a Dell 8600 and I am about to make a transatlantic trip in B/E on a Delta 763....I would like to use the laptop and understand that the powerports require an adaptor....are there less expensive ways to take advantage of the power port than having to buy an Igo?

I have the juice. I also have a targus system, and an inverter.

Juice Plus is you can also power cell phone with optional attachment. Negative, heavy and has a 3 prong grounded plug.

Targus Lighter, has a two prong plug. Negative, somewhat less unversal and robust. Shorter cords.

Inverter. Keep your own brick, bring inverter that plugs in plane then you plug you brick in. About $80. Negative, is you carry an extra thing in addition to the brick.

Look at the dell site they may have a power source for your laptop. It took one year for juice to come up with an adaptor for my dell laptop. either way you looking at $100 or so for power. :eek:

I think I found another dilemma... the Juice adaptor tip for my Inspiron notebook ( #20) is only a power tip and does not recharge the battery......

i think the more practical device is the Sharper Image Car/Air adaptor .. it retails for $40 and it includes to extensions, one for your car cigarette socket and another for airplane EmPower sockets .. both extend the power to a regular three pronged outlet .. better than iGo, you can use any device and its cheaper

Absolutely is NOT the only way to go.

Look into MOBILE INVERTERS which are less costly and more versatile as they allow you to run/charge anything that you'd ordinarily need to plug in.

For example http://www.targus.com/us/accessories..._inverters.asp

No special tips, no power only/no charge limitations, and nothing extra to carry other than the adaptor you would have intended to carry anyway if it were a Juice or Juice-type unit.

^

Versatility comes in many flavors. My business trips tend to be measured in weeks rather than days, and I like being able to leave my Apple power adapter at the hotel and my Juice at work. One less thing to pack up at the beginning and end of the day.

From what i just read on the above website it does need special tips... and again the one that I require for my Dell 8600 is power only....won't recharge the battery.

edit: I just spoke to Igo and it turns out that Dell battery recharging is "proprietary" and that they will not allow Igo to create a tip that allows battery recharging.....power only.

The inverter does not require special tips.

You plug the inverter into the airplane or car power port.

Then you plug in your normal adapter into the inverter.

No tips, no issues with proprietary charging or not.

It's the way to go.

Jim or anyone... can you recommend an inexpensive inverter that I can use on a plane....not so interested in the car.......

Any inverter will work, I have four different ones that I've picked up over time. The critical thing to check is that the capacity of the inverter is equal or greater than the draw from your charger when simultaneously charging and running the laptop. I once bought one when I was in a hurry and didn't verify. It was off by a little, and could do one or the other, but not both at the same time!

I now have a Dell power supply (for my D600) that can do car, air, or wall plug. Very handy and it lives in my travel bag. I have a normal Dell power supply for at home and one for the office.

Sorry to belabor this issue... for some reason I was having trouble understanding how it all works.... now that I think I get the picture.... can someone recommend a brand of inverter that is both small in size but will power/recharge a laptop since it looks like I will have to carry both my original adaptor and the invertor to use on a plane......

Pseudo picture


[airplane Seat] --[Power Plug]- ------- [Inverter] =[Standard charging Cord]

You plug (red) an adapter like the Targus into the airplane seat.

That goes into an inverter, still at the voltage of the plane seat (blue)

The inverter takes the power and converts it to 110 volts AC

On the other side of the inverter, you plus your standard cords into it for power (green)

So all you have to do is plug stuff into it, you don't need any other adapters because you are using your standard AC cords.

I don't disagree, but the capacity of the airplane's power port is also to be considered. some laptops consume more than the output capacity of the outlet when running and charging.