REVIEW: Exspect Xbox 360 Drop ‘N’ Charge Kit

So I’ve had the Xbox 360 Drop ‘N’ Charge kit from Exspect for over a couple of weeks now and with my experience using it, I thought it was time for a good review.  The benefit of the wireless charging is of course that no wires are required but there are also some disadvantages because it takes longer to charge the battery for instance.  So is it worth ditching your batteries and going wireless? Well time to read up on my thoughts….

If you missed it, you can see the Unboxing by clicking here.

The basic kit for both the 360 and the Wii is around £15 to £30 and comes with the charging pad and a special rechargeable battery. Obviously if you have extra controllers you will need more of Exspects batteries which come at around £5 each.  You can get them for the Xbox 360 wireless controllers, the Wii controllers and also the Wii Fit batteries.  Unfortunately this comes out more expensive, on the Xbox side at least, where buying the official Play and Charge kit can be found for around £13. However it all depends on what you need the charger for and whether the ease of wireless charging fits your playing habits.

The biggest advantage of using the Drop ‘N’ Charge is the ease of use and the ability to simply drop the controller on the pad and away you go. There is no need for new batteries or unwinding those annoying charging cables -- just drop ‘n’ charge.  It’s great because you can then spend time doing other stuff if you’re busy and what is also fantastic is the actual design of the charging pad.  Two strips of light each side indicate the situation of each charging pad (2 charging locations on each pad) and it easily tells you when the batteries are charging and when they are finished.  Red means the device is not connected, flashing green means it is charging and finally solid green means the battery is fully charged. With this ideal interface you’ll always know the status of your battery!  In fact now you can even charge it when you’re taking a quick break, lets say making a cup of tea.  Before, you’d have to get the cable out but now as you drop the controller down it will charge as well!

Also to bear in mind you can choose whether to power it via USB or with the included AC adapter, meaning you can easily take it on the go with you if you need it and power it up with your laptop or other power source.  It makes it less troublesome by not having to use a proprietary power adapter every single time!  With the ability to charge 2 batteries at the same time, the Drop ‘N’ Charge pad can just sit in the corner and busily charge away waiting for that moment when you need it gaming!

However there are still drawbacks with this wireless charging technology.  First, and most significantly of all, it takes longer to charge the battery and it also doesn’t last as long as say using the Play and Charge kit for the 360.  It roughly takes 4 hours to charge giving a play time of around 8 hours however this is a lot less than the alternative aforementioned method with around 20 hours.  If you’re a pro-gamer then at the moment this method may not be the best for you as it does not allow you to play and charge at the same time. So if you’re halfway through a game of Modern Warfare 2 fragging people online and then your battery dies, there is nothing you can do. You have to wait for it to charge up until you can play again which will probably make you very frustrated, especially if you were winning the Team Deathmatch. Obviously this problem can be tackled by remembering to charge the battery every time you’ve finished playing so you’ll have 8 hours of game time ready for the next time, but not everyone will remember.  It all depends on your needs as to whether the ease of charging will outweigh your gaming patience.  The only other disadvantage is that you have to buy the special batteries for every device you wish to charge. So if you have a second controller you’ll need to buy another Exspect battery for that, yet this would be necessary if you wanted to use the Play and Charge kit so it is not so much of a problem.

So the Xbox 360 Drop ‘N’ Charge kit is truly a revolution in next-gen console charging techniques.  It makes charging the battery simple and unobtrusive making for a more streamlined gaming experience.  However the extended charging time and lower performance will put off some consumers who will have to wait for the technology to advance slightly further.  Nevertheless I find the Drop ‘N’ charge kit a great tool and I’ll be using it for the foreseeable future to make sure my controller batteries are always charged.  You can have a look at their range at www.exspect.co.uk. Will you be taking the step up to wireless charging anytime soon?