Laptopforless - MobilePro 900 battery and AC adaptor

Was that a U.S. to U.S. shipment - so presumably you had to pay for RMA shipment, which is probably not a whole of a lot domestically but could add quite a bit to the price if outside the U.S.

Did you pay for the phone call and the postage both ways?

Frankly, I would think the Canadians are complaining for the sake of complaining. Shipping prices are stated upfront. They have a choice to buy or not. If they choose to get it and then complain later, I say ... toughie cookie! Some companies ship their products overseas as "samples" with $0 value to avoid tax. That is not very right. Other companies ship with actual value, hence the shipping cost have to include the import fees (if any). I'm not entirely sure if this is the case with laptopforless.com but this is something to take note.

batteries that are compatible in my opinion, should be ok. If the cells inside are new or have higher capacity, I don't see any problem with it, as long as the charging circuits are up to specs.

NEW original batteries that have been on the shelf for more than 3 years are more likely than not to have only 70%~80% max battery capacity. And it goes downhill very quickly from there. So for me, I would rather get a New (from factory) compatible battery than a NEW original battery that has been sitting for a few years. And besides, these compat batts are usually cheaper too.

Wow I never realized that Canadian bashing was an accepted pastime....
Just Kidding,

I do have a concern as a Canadian with the amount of shipping being charged. I was considering buying an ac adapter and a battery from these folks (still am) but I noticed that they offered free shipping for orders of $100 or more. So I ran the numbers both ways, 1 adapter, 1 battery, and then 2 adapters and 2 batteries.

Shipping either way was quoted at $30 US, and the fine print notes that duties and taxes are my responsibility.

You must admit that is fairly expensive, considering that weight is not their measurement of cost. Perhaps that's because they choose the UPS option, which I know is much more expensive, but I would think they would offer a snail mail option somewhere in there.

I'm still weighing whether I can swallow that cost or not, I have a mobilepro 900 I bought off of ebay that came without a power adapter and need to get one.

Any other suggestions where to get one? Can I use a universal laptop power supply? Is that an option?

The Manual with the machine says the adapter is 9v 1000mA output, however the back of the 900 says its rating is 12v 2A.

Which is it and are there any recommendations I could try other than laptopsforless?

Thanks!
Guyturf

I've read similar complaints from Canadians elsewhere about laptopsforless.com There are other reasons I am strongly reluctant to buy from them. I do not trust them.

You should be able to get the cord you seek at [usedhandhelds.com]... It is owned and operated by the founder & owner of PocketPC Magazine, Thaddeus. I am not sure yet whether the "excessive" charges are postage gorging or merely generated by Canadian government regulation.

It seems to be cheaper for an Australian or Greek to buy from USA that for someone in nearby Canada. Although, I save money when I buy from Canadian retailers.

Email the retail site manager sambit@usedhandhelds.com briefly explaining what you see. He will respond promptly.

--Bruised

You should be ok if you get a AC adaptor that fits the specs. You can grab its specs from laptopforless.com ... hehe ... and then scour the web for one that fits it.

Make sure you get one that is 1A or more, as otherwise, either your 900 will not even start or it may not charge. Or ... it might fry the AC adapter ... or ...

I made a AA Ni-MH batt pack for my MP790. Use 8 X AA (or was it 6?) to get enough voltage to charge up the MP790. So, it works fine even without the original AC adaptor. Just have to make sure you have enough Amp from the adaptor.

oh, btw, someone mentioned that my MP790 would even take input up to DC24v ... but I would not want to test the limits of the voltage convertor inside the MP790. Your 900 should have it as well ...

Guys

A word of advice from someone who has been in the Win CE world for many years and has been abandoned by several manufacturers......buy some batteries now!

If you plan on using your MP 900 for several more years.....don't wait to long because 1.5-2 years from now there won't be any batteries to buy. Don't be the one kicking yourself and spend $90 US on Ebay for a used battery with no guarantee of wether it even works.

If you don't trust LaptopsforLess - fine....look elsewhere, there are a few internet computer places that are selling them for $75 -$100....if you trust them, then by all means buy from them.

You want to get the best price, but remember.... now that the MP 900 has been discontinued demand for batteries will exceed supply and the day for bargains may be over.

2 years from now a New battery at 80% capacity will be a lot better than no battery at all.

Something to keep in mind!!

yeah. buy some batteries (not only one), and if they die (only IF the cells die!) you still can rebuild them with standard 18650 (?) cells for only a couple of $.

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered from laptops for less.

I bought 2 regular 900c batteries (op-mp9) and 1 ac adapter.

US$ total came to 88.90 for all three items.

Tack on $34 for fed ex shipping (which I guess is not bad actually for that fast shipment)

Tack on another 22$ (approx) for duty.

Total price to import 2 batteries and an ac adapter to Canada - about $170 Canadian.

Value to a Mobilepro 900c user.... Priceless

I'm very please with the speed of the shipment and how they packed my items, and everything works as specified. I certainly can't complain about the actual price of the batteries as I wasn't able to find a lower price anywhere on the net when I searched.

Overall, I'd recommend laptops for less for your needs. They have it in stock and they ship fast and everything works.

Can't ask more than that can we?



A satisfied (and relieved) laptops for less customer and Mobilepro 900c user.

P.S. My only frustration is I couldn't find anyone selling the extended batteries who actually had them in stock

Guyturf

It's worth it, just for the AC adapter with a reasonable cord length..... unlike the ridiculously short one, that comes standard with the unit.

What was NEC thinking?

General rule of thumb.

DO NOT buy from a retailer that uses UPS as their only shipper when you live in Canada and the vendor is American. Under GATT, any item of a value of $1600 or less entering Canada where no similar product is made in Canada is exempted from Canadian tariffs and duties.

UPS love to attach a "brokerage fee" of as high as 70% of the value of the item. As I said, under GATT, this is not legal. Said item, with very very few exceptions, are duty and tariff free and are never given a second glance by Canadian customs. They are subject to 15% taxation at the point of entry for the most part. Any charges above and beyond 15% attached by UPS are in effect, IANAL, Rico Racketerring.

But, when an item enters Canada through the USPS, the value of the item is converted into CDN$ and a tax rate of 15% + $5 service charge is levied.

I'm not sure how Fedex works,IIRC they ave a rate one level above standard where Fedex collects the 15% TAX and adds a small handling fee and Fedex remits the tax to our government.

Last item of note. Virtually every electronic item entering Canada with a value of $40 or less CDN is not subject to taxation by our Government, and any carrier attempting to broker or charge you to clear such an item is clearly racketeering.

Items entering Canada from repair, or defective goods to be salvaged for parts are usually exempt as well, with some exceptions..

Remember, IANAL, but I did teach a year of customs and imports at College a long time ago.

I should clarify, it was not duty, but was a customs charge which included taxes and a 'processing fee'...

They didn't charge 'duty'

UPS has been charging brokerage fees for products they deliver into Canada from the US for sometime now...... If it's illegal, why is the Canadian government allowing them to charge the fees? I would think that thousands of Canadian would have turned those UPS racketers in by now?

FedEx is a bit more expensive, but I've been told that FedEx does not charge the brokerage fees, so it's doesn't hurt to ask the vendor if they can ship it FedEx. Of course you could use the combined quality service of the US Postal Service and Canada Post and hope for the best!!

I have posted this warning before. I feel I cannot post it too much. Beware of Laptopsforless. I would practice extreme caution, if you feel you must buy with them.

I can refer you to a regular eBay seller who specializes in Handheld components and is trusted by eBayers who buy from him.

He favors Jornadas but sells batteries and other components for other handhelds. He is knowledgeable. For instance, he knows what wifi cards and drivers work with each major handheld. He is quick to respond to posts. His eBay name is Pagiee and his eBay store is PAGIEE'S PDA'S . He sells handheld batteries at competitive prices and like usedhandhelds.com, you can ask questions and you will be answered. Unlike usedhandheld's, he does not claim to be the world's authority on handhelds or charge rediculous prices for used items gauranteed against DOA.

I am not associated with the seller. I just buy from him and know others who buy from him.

---Bruised

Edited by bruisedquasar 2005-08-31 8:35 PM