Problems with Kensington DC Laptop/iPod adapter

I also had a lot of problems with Kensington support. I bought what turned out to be the PC version for auto and wall sockets which came with lots of plugs except any for the mac. I found out that I needed tip 15 for my 15" powerbook and called support to find out if I could have one sent to me. It was obvious that their phone support is coming from east asia, but I was told that they would put in an order to ship me the tip I needed, so I was not too concerned. One month later, I called back and was told that they would place yet another order for my missing tip. I was never given an order number or any way to track these orders. Another 3 months passed before I called for the third time. Now I was told that the tip had been backordered, so it would take longer to get to me. They offered to place yet another order for me, but I couldn't see any point to that. After another 2 or 3 months had passed, I decided to try one last time to get the tip. When I called this time, I was told that the tip was now available, so they placed a third order for me. Fortunately, 2 weeks later I finally received the tip in the mail and another one in an envelope a few days after that. 

On 9/1/05 at 8:04 AM, emerygrebyn.com (deemery) wrote:

> I bought a Kensington Laptop/iPod DC power supply at the local Apple
> Store. It came with adapters for both auto and airline DC power
> sources, and plugs for old Powerbooks, new Powerbooks and iPod. The
> iPod part worked just fine, but the Powerbook didn't. If I wiggled
> the plug I could get the Powerbook to show a charge, but I couldn't
> find a position where it would stay engaged. So I sent a question
> back to Kensington Tech Support. Here's their response:

I can understand your frustration; I ran into the same problem myself
with the AC/Auto/Air adapter (which incidentally appears to be identical
to the iGo Juice adapter, with different-colored plastics; IIRC I posted
on that several weeks ago). I'd just picked it up before my trip to
Macworld Expo, and talked to their booth people and demonstrated the
problem. The support people at the booth were surprised to hear about
the problem, and to see it when I demonstrated for them. However, they
promised to try and get another tip for me, and gave me a working one by
the end of the show; they even replaced one of the cables that had a
problem with the velcro restraining strip. So I'd give them fairly high
marks for trying to fix things, at least in my case.

Some other observations and conclusions:

* The same tip I had problems with did *not* have problems with other PB
G4's they had at the booth. What's more, I've had similar problems with
the original Apple AC adapter (though not quite as bad); and both
adapters worked fine on a white iBook. So I have to conclude that the
tolerances are somewhat weird on that connector on the Powerbooks, and
could make it fairly easy to have problems getting a good fit. It's
quite possible that most users have no trouble with it, and only a small
percentage of problem Powerbooks do.

* Since iGo and Kensington sell the same adapter, and iGo has a much
fuller product line behind it, I'd say it's fairly likely that
Kensington doesn't make it directly; whether it's buying from iGo or it
and iGo buy from the same manufacturer, that's going to make it harder
for Kensington to work out production issues like this. Especially if
Kensington is the main company selling it to Mac users.


Travis Butler
tbutlermac.com

...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.

I too have had this exact problem with one I bought from Fellowes.
All the interchangeable tips and a 12Volt adapter, but when I got to
my destination and tried to charge... SOL.

This happened with my 15" PB. I wonder if it is PowerBook model
specific?

I also had problems with Kensington support. In my case, one of the
cables had developed a short and needed replacing. Basically,
Kensington support refused to provide any meaningful support and
indicated the product was no longer sold. I believe they outsource
their support (i.e. India). Since my failure was within the warranty
period, they eventually refunded my purchase with a check by mail.

Meanwhile, I learned that their product is indeed identical to one of
iGo's iJuice product line. I asked their support folks about this,
but got an indefinite answer. This is probably due to a contractual
relationship. I decided to risk purchasing the replacement cord via
their website (igo.com). I was pleased to notice that they sell some
other useful add-ons for the unit. For instance, a power spigot that
allows charging a cellphone at the same time that you charge your
laptop. So I ordered more than just the replacement cord; however, I
managed to order a wrong part. The good news is that iGo's support
was more than helpful. They gladly corrected my error, and told me
some useful information. In fact they set me up better than I ever
imagined!

Why do I recommend iGo? For one, they have a replacement tip for the
PowerBook to fix a problem. Second, they sell their unit via Radio
Shack, which makes it very convenient to buy. Third, their support
department is second to none (friendly, helpful and even knowledgable
(uncommon these days with the outsourced clueless)).