Accessories

Intermittently charges
Recently purchased this. It charges my powerbook intermittently, charging up and stopping every 2 seconds. Very annoying and not helpful at all. Couldn't charge the battery of my computer up. Also, it makes a buzzing sound every time it "charged" for the 2 seconds. Maybe mine was faulty, but I would rather find another brand than exchange it for another one. I'd put zero stars, but you can't put up a review without one.

works, at a fraction of others cost
The wire connecting to my computer on my last macally charger just fried after 13 months (i'll take the blame i could have been wrapping it too tightly), anyways it worked well and costed a fraction of the original so I figured I'd buy again, so I've purchased another. This newer one is a different design, no longer has the light on the brick, and the wire that connects to the computer is no longer disconnect-able.

Solid Replacement
This is a solid, and affordable replacement for the apple AC Power Adapter. If you've got a late model iBook or PowerBook, you can't go wrong with this device. I've owned a number of Macally products, and while not as flashy as the genuine apple gear, their stuff always works flawlessly in my experience.

Works as advertised--no regrets
First, note that the adapter you'll get is NOT the one in the main photo--it is, however, the one pictured in the other submitted reader photos (with a beige, not grey, cord and the "macally" logo printed on the brick). The main difference is that the cord that goes from the adapter to the computer is NOT detachable, unlike the product that is pictured.

It works perfectly fine with my Aluminum PowerBook G4 15". As has been noted, the main functional loss compared to the original is the lack of a charging indicator light. The adapter itself is actually lighter and more slender than the original, and appears durable so far. I can't imagine buying the Apple original adapter for twice the cost for a computer that's now several years old.

Buyer Beware!! Doesn't Work on Aluminum G4s
I bought one of these in July after my original one of three years went on the fritz. At first, it seemed to work fine on my 12-inch Powerbook G4. It had to turn my laptop over to see the green light and insure that it was charging. It's a bit inconvenient since the original one lit up at the connection so that I could immediately see it's charging state. The Macally Adapter charged my battery and spare with no problems.

The real issue came when I wanted to use my computer at the same time as charging it. The screen flickered dim and full, every few seconds. The effect is just like the difference when the original charger was plugged in with the computer power-saving feature on. The screen goes from power-saving dim to full power, only this time, it keeps cycling. When I opened the Powersaver I could see that the charger was cycling between charging and not charging. Then I read on another web site that the Macally Charger doesn't work with Aluminum powerbooks, which mine is.

If you just want to charge your powerbook when it is off, the charger seems to work okay (at least, after a month of use). But trying to use the computer with the power plugged in, like you might do giving a presentation, is most annoying.

I wish I had check this one out a bit more. It's not easy finding a charger now that Apple no longer makes the 12-inch. I can't vouch for how this might work on other laptops but I sure don't recommend it for the 12-inch Powerbook G4.