Product arrived in about a week. I plugged it in while driving to top off my ZA3 and it worked great...for about two hours.
Fortunately, I was sitting right there so I smelled it when it started smoking - so it didn't burn down my truck or anything exciting like that. Looks like maybe the internal fuse did NOT blow when the electronics started to fry. Now it has a melted spot on the side and I'm not about to plug it in to see if it still works or not.
I've had it about a week and I've sent a contact email to eForCity through the Amazon contact system. We'll see what happens. I'm not going to be very happy if I end up having to spend money to ship a $10 item back for a replacement. If I get good service, then I'll edit this review and say so. If I don't get good service then I'll do the same.
EDIT: Well I got a response...sort of. What I got was an email with a tracking number showing that the company had shipped another unit. No charge, no fuss, no bother and nothing was said about returning the burnt out unit. I sent the complaint message just before Memorial day, and the email with the tracking number of the new unit showed up just after Memorial day. That was pretty quick. At this point, I have NO complaints about the service.
If the replacement lasts a while then I'll be happy with that.
EDIT: So I got the replacement and it worked for quite a while, then it quit. I took my multimeter and stuck the tips of the probes to the openings on the back of the fuse and it was blown (no continuity). You can't reach the fuse with fingers, so I got a pair of big tweezers and tried to pull it out and it wouldn't come out. So I tried forceps...still nogo. So I tried small needle-nose pliers and it still wouldn't come out. Finally I gave up and took it apart (there is a screw under the label and then it just pops apart. Well...the fuse is soldered to the circuit board and is not replaceable.
Screw it...I tossed #2 in the junk drawer with #1 and I'm not even going to try to deal with the vendor to get any satisfaction. I guess if a Chinese product lasts a couple of months we're supposed to act like we got our money's worth.
There are other car chargers on Amazon for a few bucks more. I'll be ordering one of those instead of messing with trying to get this POS replaced.
Verdict: I recommend that you NOT buy this.
EDIT: What I finally ended up with is a beefier unit that I found from a vendor on that site with "bay" in the name. It was 18 bucks w/free shipping and has higher ratings than the unit here. Supposedly rated up to 90w, which considering the power supply that came with my ZA3 is only rated at 30w should be plenty. Input: DC 10v-15v 10a max. Output: 19v 4.7a continuous. Model: YD190-474. Vendor is dub-dub-dub dot sibusa dot com.
It charges my ZA3 faster than the unit I bought here (yea, I know - it shouldn't, but it does), and barely even gets warm. The two other units both got really hot. Car Charger for Acer Aspire One
Plug it in, turn on the laptop, done! It does everything the OEM power brick does, but through a cigarette lighter.
I checked the output voltage of this thing, and it's right at 18 volts. The OEM power brick output is 19 volts. Close enough!
The cigarette lighter side gets slightly warm while it has a load on it (charging the battery while the machine is powered on), but I wouldn't consider it any kind of hazard. It doesn't get anywhere near as warm as the OEM power brick does.
It just plain works like it is supposed to. Enough said.
It works just as expected, charging my Aspire One just as quickly as the standard adapter can. It does get warm, but not alarmingly hot. I only have one bone with this charger: the adapter tip feels very weak, with minimal plastic molding around the barrel tip.
I purchased this for my Acer Aspire One. It arrived quickly but there was a problem with the product. The center (Positive) push pin and one of the side (Negative) springs were dislodged. I had to pry it open, reset the pin and both springs. It's cheaper and easier than sending it back. The output is 20 volts DC which is the correct voltage for the netbook.
The seller shipped it in an expedient manor but whoever assembled it in China must have been having an off day. That's why I only gave it 3 stars.
It works great on my netbook. It runs suppriseingly cool compaired to the 110V power suupply. A very minor dissappointment, it does not provide enough power for my large old Acer notebook, but I never travel with the big notebook anyway as the netbook is so much more convient to carry.
The charger works fine. It's a great value for the money. I really have no complaints about it. It seems to be well manufactured. I'm surprised that the product is not available in any stores locally. If it were, I would imagine it would sell with every Netbook sold. The vendor got the item shipped promptly. I have no issues with them either. All in all... I'm happy. - Cigarette Ligher Charger - Aspire One - Car Adapter - Acer Aspire One'
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