Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals, Portables, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook
MagSafe Airline Power Adapter released
As Dan mentioned it looks like Apple finally gave in to all our whining and has released an adapter which allows you to power (not charge-the seats don't provide enough juice) your MacBook on those long haul flights-that is, if you're lucky enough to be seated somewhere with access to an EmPower plug. While sixty clams is considerably steep for what is essentially a piece of wire and an adapter plug, frequent flyers will finally be able to continue their always-on existence while cramped between the fussy baby and overly-friendly guy. On a bit of a more editorial note; is this the first specialized adapter Apple has released? I can't think of any other situations in which Apple has provided anything other than the normal desktop adapters, leaving third parties to fill in the market.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DandyDon said 4:19PM on 10-24-2006
Yeah ba-by! This is one of the reasons that I've been holding off upgrading my PB. I travel waaaay too much to not have an adapter available.
Cons: Just powers the notebook. Doesn't charge the battery.
Pros: It's a simple wire without a brick solution. Easy to stash in a bag and no brick weighing you down.
$59 is a good price for this from a frequent flier's perspective.
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GadgetGav said 4:33PM on 10-24-2006
$60 is a rip off, but it's Apple accessories so you're always going to be paying top dollar. The Kensington cable I have for my G4 PowerBook was something like $15 - $20. That's a reasonable price considering this is just two connectors and a length of wire - no transformer or anything.
Hopefully the aftermarket manufacturers will get on the mag connector case soon and we will be able to get tips for things like the Juice system.
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Randy Stewart said 5:25PM on 10-24-2006
Actually, I view this as a pretty bad omen. One of my primary concerns when buying a MacBook was whether or not third parties would be able to create an adaptor for magsafe. This is a sign that they won't.
Not sure if Apple won't license the design (fairly likely given their normal business practices) or that the design is cost prohibitive for 3rd parties. In either case, my iGo hasn't been going with me as the all in one solution isn't so handy any more.
Ugh. I hope this isn't going to be the only way I can power up my MacBook on a plane.
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b said 4:49PM on 10-24-2006
mag connector is patented by Apple, hence no after-market solutions
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ChillyWilly said 5:16PM on 10-24-2006
Too bad the airplace I'll be on this next week doesn't have EmPower plugs.
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Gregg Fuller said 5:30PM on 10-24-2006
There's this crazy little thing in your macbookr ight now called a battery that'll power it internally and in a low light environment like a plane, the minimum brightness setting with all wireless stuff off (wardriving in a plane??) will last you a good number of hours if you need ot get actual work done (or even DVD watching if you must.) I know that this is useless in a international travel situation, but I just wanted to be snarky for a moment.
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Gavin said 8:12PM on 2-02-2007
$60 seems steep, but for your average frequent flier... I'm sure they can afford it just fine.
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Ron K said 6:08PM on 10-24-2006
It blows my mind that iGo, etc couldn't get Apple to release an adapter adapter. On one end is the MagSafe connector, on the other end a female connector that takes the old PowerBook power connector. That way we'd all be happier....
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Alex Dawson said 6:18PM on 10-24-2006
I'm a bit upset it won't power it from a car, but I guess auto electric systems aren't as standardised. It's unfortunate that they couldn't put sufficient regulation inside it to deal with that, even though it does come with a plug that would fit in a car
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Alex said 7:18PM on 10-24-2006
will apple release a ar charger, i've burned up 2 inverters on my pc and one on my mac (i don't think its the computers fualt but the still do suck)
Alex
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GadgetGav said 8:48PM on 10-24-2006
At $60 for this and $80 for the full wall adapter (amazon) I'd be tempted to buy a second wall adapter, cut the cable and put a male & female connector pair in line. That way you could choose something standard and use the mag safe end to convert from an existing auto / air / iGo adapter... Maybe I'll send that in to Make!
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John said 9:01PM on 10-26-2006
while I'm glad Apple came out with something for my flights, I'm also a bit pissed that they haven't let 3rd parties play in this game. I have 4 iGo adapters that I've bought over the years to charge my phone and computer, and now I can't use any of those... that's probably a $600 investment down the drain... ugh.
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Kee Hinckley said 2:40PM on 10-26-2006
Apple may have released specialized adapters back in the Duo days, I don't quite recall, but certainly not since then.
As for third-parties filling in the gaps. Ha! When was the last time you saw a battery charger for a Powerbook battery?
I run off the grid several weeks a year. A laptop that I can't run on 12v is a brick after one day. Fortunately, it should be possible to get a converter so that you can plug that airplane adapter into a 12v car outlet (I've seen converters going the other way).
The limitation about not charging while running is understandable--the amps just aren't there. I assume that it *will* charge if the laptop is asleep--does anyone know differently? Frankly, that's how I run when I'm running my G4 17 off of car batteries anyway--it's more efficient.
The real drag is the lack of chargers. Lindt stopped making them. The other folks who used to make them got bought by a disk drive company, and stopped as well. It's all very fine to carry two batteries and use them during the day--but what am I supposed to do, set the alarm for 3am so I can take the recharged one out of the laptop and put the second one in to charge? This is a category where Apple needs to step up to the plate.
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Mike Lee said 1:35PM on 11-19-2006
Our Magsafe Airline adapter DOES charge the battery in Airlines AND work in cars!
NO INVERTERS! It is direct DC to DC!
3 months of happy customers!!
http://mikegyver.com
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