Use magsafe power connectors

Laptops, Laptop Power submitted by badblood 05/20/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

MagSafe power connectors, by Apple, are magnetic power connectors that pull out harmlessly when the cord is tripped upon.



They are very cool and quite sensible.





75 Comments »

switch to LED monitors

Monitors and Displays, Laptop Power submitted by yardsale Jan 16

I dont know why dell hasnt done this yet. switch all monitors on desktops and notebooks to LED. did you know that you can run an LED screen at full brightniess and it uses less power than a LCD monitor at the lowest brighting level?!? its cheaper, its energy efficent, and it needs to be done! promote this, if you demote i wanna know why! 40 Comments »

Cut the cost of a 9-cell battery upgrade

Laptop Power submitted by ccpljat May 6

Yes a 9-cell is more powerful and lasts longer, but $169? Come on. It can't be that much. Cut down the price to honestly reflect the difference. I mean good grief, you can buy a 9-cell replacement for an Inspiron 1720 for $154! An upgrade is always supposed to be less.

FIX IT, DELL!!!! 3 Comments »

Sell AC adapters at retail stores

Advertising and Marketing, Laptop Power submitted by undead999 May 7

Since Dell is selling computers at retail outlets offer ac adapters for laptops at best buy, staples and anywhere you sell laptops. Also offer ac adapters at your kiosks.

AC adapter usually fail without warning, waiting days or weeks for a replacement AC adapter is not always an option for many users. Generic adapters dont always work on Dells, in addition many are underpowered espicially for 17 inch models Comment »

Lower Prices of Batteries, especially Replacements

Laptops, Laptop Power submitted by gear Apr 18

I realize there is a temporary battery shortage that is driving up prices and also the high cost associated with getting bad batteries that have to be recalled.

However, I know that there are many Li-Ion battery suppliers in China that are currently not qualified as Dell Suppliers and will need a certain amount of work to come up to your quality specs.

Why not begin a program to upgrade their capabilities leading to a more diversified source of batteries, and hopefully, lower prices?

In the mean time, I understand that there are shortages, but it is unconsciousable to raise your prices for replacement batteries to $300 for a 9 cell battery.

That is the level of robbery associated with Sony.

If there is a shortage, hold prices stable but impose rationing instead. 3 Comments »

Adopt the truly Green and universal GreenPlug Power Supply standard

Laptop Power submitted by diggaddict Apr 30

Green Plug is the first developer of digital technology that enables real-time collaboration between electronic devices and their power sources. With Green Plug, however, intelligent power supplies communicate with electronic devices and agree upon device power requirements for all devices connected to them. All cables and connectors are uniform; so, they work with any device! Being intelligent power sources, they eliminate wasted “phantom power” (power that is wasted when chargers are plugged in and either connected to devices that are fully charged or have no devices connected to them) and improve power utilization and efficiency.

Come on Dell - Save the Planet and Support GreenPlug ( www.greenplug.us ) !!

We can do away with all those ridiculous powerblocks and have one power standard. If you dont do this I am sure Apple will soon. Comment »

Portable power supply

Laptop Power submitted by magiting May 5

Hi Mr. Michael Dell,

I would like to suggest if you can make another product line
which is a rechargeable 2.5 inch Li-Ion battery that is a plug-n-play design. I do not have doubts about the batteries that today's laptops have but each brand are making their own design. I wish a USB insert portable power supply would debut in the market sold by Dell which can have a battery power ranging from 2-5hours. This is especially good when in the mountains camping or making seminars in remote areas. It is a path towards standardized portable power supply for laptops.

Thanks,
magiting 2 Comments »

HeatDock for XPS laptops

XPS products, Laptops, Laptop Power submitted by funeagle Apr 26

Most of the XPS laptops would be used at home and the users would like to benefit from a quiet computer. The laptop does not have to be quiet on the go (that is the tradeoff to keep it affordable) but when using it at home would prefer a quiet solution.

I would welcome a heat docking solution which would touch a copper surface on the bottom of the laptop, pulling away the heat and ideally keep the internal fan off when the cpu is idle or nearly idle.

How to disperse the heat is a different question but you could offer passive and active (water cooling) solutions. My preference would be to able to connect to a Reserator like http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=182

The docking station should be stylish and could have monitor and usb connection with 4? extra usb ports to function as a real docking station.

Instead of copper touch nanotubes should be preferred (thanks jervis961):
http://www.dailytech.com/Sheets+of+Cheap+Carbon+Nanotubes+Now+a+Reality/artic... Comment »

ULV - Ultra Low Voltage Notebook Computer

Environment, Laptop Power submitted by reg 06/06/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

Intel and AMD have both been developing Ultra Low Voltage CPUs, computer chips that run on 1/5 of the power of traditional computer chips. The CPU is a good start, now Dell can work with Intel and / or AMD to develop a FULLY ULV Notebook - ALL the subcomponents using significantly less power than standard notebook systems.

[Gateway's ULV CPU powered notebook.]

Another big component to change is the display, static 'ePaper' notebook screens that can maintain the image even when powered off. Electricity is only used when changing the display, and even then - power only used down to the pixel level, while non-changing pixels consume little or no power at all. Back-Lit by new ULV LEDs, that adjust their intensity based off of a ambient light sensor - using even less power when in a darker room, vs. a sunny patio. The screen size can be 12" widescreen, and still be able to provide a good movie viewing experience. No Hard Drive, No CD Drive - those power hungry components can be put into the ULV notebook docking station. Use Flash drives and USB memory sticks only.

I would imagine a SSD Flash drive equipped notebook that could run for hours off of a single 9 volt battery (rechargeable of course!)

The New ULV Dell Notebook
With an ULV notebook, you can replace the battery with a water powered fuel cell, and cover the notebook screen lid with the new 40%+ efficient solar cells, and have the FIRST 'free power' ULV notebook on the market.

Samsung has been a leader in ULV technology in Korea:












11 Comments »

battery life

Laptop Power submitted by sa324 Apr 10

It would be great if Dell could improve the battery life on their laptops. 9 Comments »

Multi-battery dock-station

New Product Ideas, Laptop Power submitted by pell Apr 18

Introduce a device user can plug a lot of battaries to. The device has a power cord plugged to laptop (for example, as second CD/DVD-slot battery). It can looks like a dock-station with 4 or even more battery slots. It uses the same laptop's type batteries.

Moreover, the device can be equipped with charger to charge a lot of battaries simultaneously.

It can be useful for a long presentations, out-of-office work, etc. 3 Comments »

Universal power adapter (power supply) for all Dell products

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptop Power submitted by rguptaos-dyndns 02/19/07

How many of us have to buy multiple “AC / DC Adapter or power bricks” for each of electronic devices and laptops? I have power supply adapter for home, office and travel bag… about 2-3 of these for my laptop, cell phone and external hard disk or other devices I use.

I have background in electrical engineering and I know technically it is possible to use the same power supply / adapter unit with some intelligence built in to power up cell phones, hard-disk, laptops, speakers, mp3 players etc. I also understand that the accessories are one of the most profitable business aspects for electronic companies like Sony and Dell.

Dell wants to be the leader and differentiator? Well...

>> How about a smart universal power adaptor for all DELL products that intelligently recognizes the product and supplies the appropriate power.
One power supply and connector for all products!!!

I know technically it is possible – I did design this and did work on the patent application but, did not file because I got focused on some other activities. I am pretty sure there are enough smart engineers at Dell to design this. If you want a head start contact me for details. 9 Comments »

Batteries should not stick out the front of a laptop

Laptop Power submitted by chipzero Apr 13

A number of Dell laptops come with 9-cell batteries that stick out the front, which looks weird and - in my opinion - quite ugly.

Pictures:
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/10560.jpg
http://img5.pcpop.com/ProductImages/640x480/0/440/000440767.jpg
http://www.mikeshardware.com/reports/dells_happiest_customer/dell_2_lg.jpg

Batteries should instead stick out the back, not stick out at all, or come with a warning about their size and weight. (A lot of customers simply pick the largest capacity battery, unaware of this tradeoff in aesthetics or the many reviews that warn about this.) 9 Comments »

MagSafe - Magnetic powercord plug

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptop Power submitted by thorin_2 02/21/07

Awesome feature that all my Mac user friends have on their MacBook Pros.

From WIkipedia.com: The MagSafe connector is a new power connector introduced in conjunction with the MacBook Pro at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco on January 10, 2006. The MagSafe connector is held in place magnetically. As a result, if it is tugged on—for instance, by someone tripping over the cord—it comes out of the socket safely, without damaging it or the computer or pulling the computer off its table or desk.

I checked, and Apple doesn't have a patent on it...yet. They have a patent pending status however there are plenty of examples of prior art. See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060112/1555226.shtml for example. 12 Comments »

Extended Battery Life

Laptop Power submitted by jandern3 Mar 2

Please, Please, PLEASE invest more money in R&D for battery life. It does not matter how much money you are already putting into it, it needs more. Advances are simply not being made fast enough to keep up with the ridiculously fast growing electronics market. With phones, mp3 players, and laptops taking over and wireless and portable electronics emerging as constants, battery life is just not long enough to sustain it. Whenever you use a laptop or phone for an extended time period, it needs to be recharged. This means charging it more than once per day. A virtual impossibility if it is being used in its true capacity. 1 Comment »

Let us leave the laptop plugged in for as long as we want without negatively affecting the battery.

Laptop Power submitted by sotopheavy Feb 21

My rule of thumb is if a battery goes down below an hour of laptop life it is useless . This usually happens within the first 8 months of owning a laptop for me.

If I'm using my laptop to surf the internet I will usually plug it in until it's full, then unplug it, then plug it in when it gets low, then unplug it again when it's full. This got so annoying that I eventually just left it plugged in and my battery now lasts 15 minutes with wifi off and the screen dimmed all the way down. There has to be a better way to manage laptop power than this. Let us leave the laptop plugged in for as long as we want without negatively affecting the battery. 4 Comments »

LED Backlight

Sales Strategies, Laptop Power submitted by angryjohnny 02/22/07

Offer LED backlit displays (at lease as an option) for laptops!

They are brighter, offer better contrast, and longer battery life! 2 Comments »

Allow Third Party Power Adapters

Laptop Power submitted by zcrane 11/12/07

Currently Dell won’t allow a user to charge their batteries with a third party charger, such as a Targus Universal Power Adapter. Dell has some sort of a power adapter identifier that will only allow you to *power* the notebook, but not *charge* the batteries with the said charger.

This is a horrible case of forcing customers into purchasing the Dell branded power adapter, even if a different company produces one that fits the user's needs better. This is like saying only a Dell branded mouse will work with a Dell notebook... ridiculous!

Dell, this needs to be changed, and changed soon. 20 Comments »

Dummy accu (XPS M1530)

XPS products, Laptop Power submitted by boaty Apr 3

Maybe it's an option to sell dummy accu's for all available laptops. I am not always using my battery and to save my battery life I would take out the battery. But because of the lack of a fourth foot under the laptop he will not stand solid. In the case of the XPS M1530 it's maybe an option to bring them out in two versions:
In the implementation of the 9-cell accu. Most of the time you are gaming you will connect the laptop at the AC. So its useless to let the accu in the laptop, but the airflow the accu gives is not useless. And maybe in the implementation of the 6 cell accu. 8 Comments »

Make a laptop power supply that doesn't stink

Laptop Power submitted by eauxnguyen 02/18/07

Each of the four Dell laptops I have owned all sit gathering dust with failed power supplies. This might be acceptable if it were one or even two of them. The most recent are two Dell Inspiron 8600's I bought for my kids 3 years ago. Both of the 8600 power supplies died at two years of service. If we wiggle the cord just right at the brick it might work for a bit, then no more. I bought one more power supply new and it failed too. What does it take to make a power supply that just works? My now 7 year old Thinkpad power supply continues to work fine and my kids take it everywhere. It will take quite a bit to convince me to buy a Dell again because of this bad experience.

Bury this as unoriginal if you will but this is probably a truth for quite a few formerly loyal Dell customers. Comment »