All-in-One Travel Power Plug Adapter for US, UK, EU, AU
by Kingsmart
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List Price: Our Price: $0.40 You Save: $19.59 (98%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of All-in-One Travel Power Plug Adapter for US, UK, EU, AU
Customer Review: Works as advertised, well engineered
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this item in anticipation of our vacation to Europe, with stops in Germany and in England. The unit worked well in both locations - I had no problems using it to power my laptop and recharge my iPhone. It came with a small storage bag as well, which was reasonably well made, and protects the unit from grit & etc. It is small, about the size of a typical wall-plug power supply, though not as heavy: easy to pack!
The usage of the adapter is very straightforward: pick out the appropriate plug you need for your current location on the front of the adapter, then plug your unit into the correct jack on the back. It is a two way Adapter, allowing you to adapt in either direction. (From any country's standard to any other, for the standards supported by the unit.)
As an added bonus, the unit is also a "surge protector" - though I cannot vouch for its capabilities in this area, as we had no problems with surges during our trip.
The unit arrived from the vendor (Dreambargains) within a couple of days, much faster than what was promised.
All in all, a good unit, sold at a good price. I have seen some reviews here which say the unit is "cheap-feeling" and "prone to breaking" --- I would disagree. It seems reasonably robust, given its' intended use, though I wouldn't recommend flinging it around or twisting the prongs (when extended).
I'll give it five stars: it does what it is intended to do, is well engineered, and all at a reasonable price.
Added Note (March 28, 2010): I recently loaned this unit to a friend travelling to Australia. She reports that it worked fine for her needs while she was there - powering a phone charger and a laptop.
Customer Review: Good compact adapter
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for a trip to Australia and haven't used it elsewhere. It is nice and compact and has several options for different power sources. I was a little nervous when I first got it as I didn't see the adapter for Australian outlets and it didn't come with any documentation but I eventually realized that the prongs that fit into a standard US outlet rotate to fit an Australian outlet and indeed it worked fine on my trip.
A couple notes that may not be apparent from the photos:
1. You can plug in a three prong US outlet into the adapter (although the ground does not connect, just the two power carrying prongs.
2. The prongs rotate in both directions so it can be plugged in right side up or upside down. I found in a couple locations that the outlets were located right at floor level and I couldn't plug in the adapter without rotating the prongs to plug it in upside down. I did have a slight issue as the outlets each had a switch on them and plugging the adapter in upside down tended to hit the switch and turn it off. I was able to make it work but just barely in those cases.
3. For some reason, my laptop didn't recognize the voltage through the converter and wouldn't charge the battery, although it would run off the AC power. I was using an extra power cord that is not as powerful as the one that comes with the laptop but it works fine at home. I'm not sure if the problem was the lack of ground or the power cord but thought I'd mention it in case anyone else has had the problem.
Overall I'm happy with the adapter and would buy it again.
Customer Review: Best Travel Adapter - Period
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a good travel adapter that would allow me to charge my phone and laptop/netbook while traveling on my Europe cruise. I had a few hotel stays in different countries and of course the cruise ship itself to deal with. I was willing to spend whatever it took to get a good quality adapter that would work.
I almost didn't buy this because it is so inexpensive. How could something so cheap possibly work as advertised or stand up to the abuses of travel? But the reviews were mostly positive so I decided to give it a try. I could always send it back if I discovered something cheesy or I had been ripped off.
This adapter not only works, but is well made and small enough to find a place in my carryon, which has almost no space left for anything. It is NOT a 'voltage converter' so look carefully at your chargers. They should have a tiny label on them (on the bulky part...not the cord) saying something like 'input 110v to 240v'. If your charger/power plug says that, then you don't need a voltage converter. Your charger is already capable of detecting the right voltage. All you need is something that will allow you to plug it into the wall. That is what this adapter does...and does well. If it just says 'input 110-120v' then DO NOT USE THIS ADAPTER with that charger. That charger/power plug requires 110 to 120 volts and the Europe plugs are 240 volts which will fry your charger and probably your device as well.
I wish I could give it a 6th star for not only working as advertised, but saving me money as well.
Customer Review: Simply doesn't work - terrible product
Summary: 1 Stars
Ok, I should have believed the others who said it doesn't work. Here I sit in my UK hotel with three of these things and one of them occasionally works for a short time. In the 4 days I have been here, I have nearly gone nuts watching these adapters flash on and off. As an electrical engineer, I admire the concept, but I can see that there is some manufacturing problem or design defect so that the internal contact is fatally flawed. With the UK prongs popped out, and with it inserted into a UK plug strip, I can rock the body of the adapter very slightly and cause the internal connection within the adapter to make or break. Unfortunately getting an adapter to stay 'ON' or connected is nearly impossible. All three are the same. They snap open nicely, and plug in smoothly and then the LED on the adapter flashes for part of a second and then goes off. At that point, the body of the adapter is wobbly on the prongs, which are solidly pushed into the UK plug. So I try to rock the body to coax it into the ON mode and keep it there. If tape would hold it, i'd try that, but keeping it on is nearly impossible. If it were not for the 110 volt plugs in this hotel, I wouldn't be able to use the laptop to write this bad review. Whatever problems cause this - manufacturing defect, or design flaw, it doesn't matter. Of course, I will return these once I get back to the US, so that Amazon will know they should pull this product.
Customer Review: Cheap quality but functional
Summary: 3 Stars
This review is for usage in India; no idea about other countries.
Summary: if you are planning on using this in India only, there are other better products, designed for use in India.
I was taking a few electronic gifts (all with multivoltage 110-240v 50/60hZ but U.S. plug) to India and bought a few of these so that they can be used in India.
They worked fine, but did not have a perfect fit; wobbled a bit and so may not make contact all the time; you need to jiggle it a bit and find the right position to ensure contact.
At this low price, I don't have any complaints. Fine with low priced electronics (mostly 2 pin plugs; this does not provide ground, even though you can plug in three pin plugs; ground is just a dummy plastic pin).
However, for use with Laptops and other high priced gadgets, my preference is to use the Grounded plug adapters ("International Plug Adapter USA Female to India 16 Amp Grounded BS546 Male Plug" had a perfect fit and I just left it in the wall permanently).
My final conclusion is: if you are going to be using it India ONLY, then I would prefer the
"International Plug Adapter USA Female to India 16 Amp Grounded BS546 Male Plug" or similar grounded/fuse_protected plug.
For other countries, you may want to check other reviews.