Review: Penguin United Remote Charging Dock + Rechargeable Battery

Penguin United Remote Charging Dock + Rechargeable Battery
Manufacturer: Penguin United
Site: Buy from Penguin United (dock + battery) / Buy from Penguin United (dock + 2x battery) / Buy from Penguin United (battery only) / Buy from Penguin United (2x docks + 4x batteries)
Price: $19.99 (dock + battery) / $24.99 (dock + 2x battery) / $7.99 (battery only) / $44.99 (2x docks + 4x batteries)

Overview : The included rechargable battery will provide you with 38 hours of game playing time and tons of $$ saved on batteries. To recharge your Wii Remote, simply place your Wii Remote on the charging dock. Your Wii remote will be charged from USB cable using modified battery cover provided.

Includes : (dock + battery)

• Wii Remote Chargin Dock
• USB Connection Cable
• Rechargeable battery pack lasting 38 hours
• Recharge enabled battery cover

Includes : (dock + 2x battery)

• 1X Wii Remote Charging Dock
• 1X USB Connection Cable
• 2X Rechargeable battery pack lasting 38 hours
• 2X Recharge enabled battery cover

Includes : (battery only)

• Rechargeable battery pack lasting 38 hours
• Recharge enabled battery cover
• Requires dock

Includes : (2x docks + 4x batteries)

• 2X Wii Remote Charging Dock
• 2X USB Connection Cable
• 4X Rechargeable battery pack lasting 38 hours
• 4X Recharge enabled battery cover

Quality/Usability : Ever since the release of the Nintendo Wii whether it be in Asia, Europe or North America, 3rd party manufacturers have been releasing rechargeable battery packs. Why? Because everyone wanted rechargeable battery packs to save money rather then spend it on regular alkaline batteries. The Wii Remote would eat through batteries like no tomorrow and would need to be replaced as if it was a handheld system.

With the need of rechargeable battery packs, Penguin United has jumped in to help fellow gamers. Penguin United released their Remote Charging Dock and Rechargeable Battery. PU originally offered only the dock and battery but due to demand, they are offering different bundles. You can pick up either a dock and battery, dock and two batteries, batteries only or two docks and 4 batteries, at relatively cheap prices!

Upon opening up the box (dock + battery), you'll find a USB cable, dock, rechargeable battery, battery cover and instructions. Setting up the dock is easy. Just plug one end of the USB cable into either your computer or the Wii and the other end into the dock. Thats it.

Putting the battery into the remote isnt as easy. It takes a bit of trial and error but once you know what to do, it shouldnt be a problem. To insert the battery into the remote you would need to hold the remote right-side up and hold the battery with the (+) and (-) sign facing the bottom. While holding the battery at an angle, place the (+) and (-) into position and then push down. At the same time, push the top of the battery into place. The battery should now be inserted into the remote.

In order to charge the batteries, you must use the included battery cover as it has a custom connection that will work with the dock. The battery cover though is a bit darker then the Wii remote itself. But if you have a glove or case on the Wii remote, you wont notice it. Speaking of glove, you will either have to remove the glove or lift it up enough so that the remote can fit into the dock. When the remote is placed into the dock, there is a blue LED. A steady blue means it is charging and if the LED is blinking, it means it is done charging.

In the instructions that were included, they suggested that the battery require 12 hours of charging before use. The battery were done charging within 2 hours or so and the dock started to blink.

Once the battery was fully charged, I took it for a test (7 straight days of playing). After the first couple hours of WarioWare, Wii Sports and Zelda, the Wii remote still showed 3 battery bars. Played a couple more hours the next couple of days and it still showed 3 bars. Probably by the 4th or 5th day, the battery dropped a bar. By the 7th day, it was still at 2 bars. Had I played longer, it would of probably lasted me almost 2 weeks on one full charge! Thats insane.

Conclusion : Overall, the Penguin United Remote Charging Dock + Rechargeable Battery exceeds my expectations. The battery life is long lasting. Only minor complaints is the non-matching color of their battery cover to the Wii remote and the dock not stop charging if it is fully charged. If you're looking for a rechargeable battery pack, I suggest checking out PU's Remote Charging Dock + Rechargeable Battery. Interested International buyers can purchase this through their eBay store. PU will be releasing a dual charger sometime in April. But it would be nice to see a charger only for the battery rather then a dock.

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