Review: Dart, The Smallest Laptop Charger Out There

So you’ve shelled out to buy a lightweight laptop, but for charging its battery you’re still stuck with a huge charger.

Startup FINsix has come up with a better way than using the typical charging brick. The company’s PC laptop charger is calledDart, and we here at the CRN Test Center are officially fans.

For starters, we appreciate having a less bulky charger to carry around. The Dart weighs a barely noticeable one-fifth of a pound, compared with a half-pound for the charger that came with a new Dell Ultrabook we're trying out.

And the Dart doesn’t sacrifice on power, with an output of 65 watts. That’s more than the half-pound charger for the Dell laptop, which does 45 watts of power output, and it's the same output you’ll find in even bigger chargers, such as for gaming laptops.

The Dart’s biggest plus, in our view, is in reducing the insane clutter of wires usually involved with plugging in devices.

The removal of the brick does wonders for this, and the Dart also has a USB charger as part of the cord for simultaneously charging a phone or tablet.

The Dart works with all major PC brands -- including Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung -- and comes with nine different tips for use depending on the laptop you’re using.

The Dart doesn’t work with Apple laptops, so that’s one downside, and it also costs $99, which may be higher than many people would pay.

But do we think the Dart could be a game-changer if it starts shipping with new laptops? Definitely -- and FINsix has a deal with Lenovo to do just this. The days of the charging brick may be numbered.