Follow-up: 3rd Party Car Charger for the Surface Pro

Right after the Surface 2 announcement in September I was a bit unhappy with the prices that Microsoft was proposing for the wave of accessories. And, not just unhappy with the prices, but most of the accessories won't even be available until sometime in early 2014. That's quite a ways off. I had been searching for a car power adapter for my Surface Pro for a long time and finally found one cheaper than the $50 price Microsoft is going to slap on their own branded accessory. The one I located was $30 instead. You can read about my research here: Can't Wait for the $50 Surface Pro Car Power Adapter? Here's One for $30

Well, my purchase arrived today, and like a kid at Christmas I ripped into the package and have already given it a good test. Here's my results.

The box is pretty generic – nothing special. In fact, if you try real hard to read every word you'll never, ever be able to find a reference to the Microsoft Surface. It just indicates that the car charger is for a tablet PC (or notebook) and supports Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

Based on the box alone, anything could be inside.

So, I ripped open the packaging and quickly pulled the actual charger from inside to sit on my desk, so I could figure out whether or not I received a correct shipment. Sure enough…it was the exact connector I was hoping to see.

The inside packaging was pretty sparse, but adequate, holding the charger in place. So, I removed the charger from its plastic prison and unwrapped it from the included Velcro clasp.

The charger is surprisingly well made, and after a few tugs on the cable ends, seems like it could ensure constant use. The cable is long, almost 4.5 foot, which is great to be able to keep the Surface Pro tethered while sitting it in the passenger seat.

After admiring the adapter itself, I had to make sure that the Surface Pro end would fit. And, it did. The connection is actually extremely snug. It's not going to fall out with a simple bump, ensuring that regular road travel wouldn’t separate the Surface Pro from a good charge.

With all of the preliminary checks complete, it was time to actually test the adapter. So, I grabbed the Surface Pro and the adapter and took a quick car ride.

The adapter worked beautifully. The end of the Surface Pro connector actually lights up green to let you know when you have a valid power connection.

Bottom line: Despite some misspelled words on the adapter itself (they spell 'tablet' as 'tbalet' – i.e., you can tell it's made in China) and a very generic box, the adapter is solidly made, fits great, and works. I'd rather pay $30 now than wait for 6 months and pay $50.

If you're so inclined, you can purchase 3^rdparty Compact Microsoft Surface Pro Car adapter from the following web site:

http://www.mikegyver.com/Surface-Battery-Car/