Nyko Charge Station for Xbox 360: Is It Worth The Dough?

Written by: haringtonl • Edited by: Michael Hartman
Published Jul 22, 2009 • Related Guides: Xbox 360

The Nyko Charge Station for the Xbox 360 attempts to tackle that annoying problem of losing your handset's power when you need it most. But, considering the price of the Nyko Charge Station, is it really worth it's weight? Let's find out.

Nyko Charge Station: A Solution to your Problems?

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Nyko is known for it's console accessories that provide a cheaper alternative to those made by the giants of the console industry. The Nyko Charge Station for Xbox 360 serves a single purpose of charging the included two NiMH rechargeable battery packs at an affordable price. With a retail price of $29.99, the product boasts a two hour charge time, and 25 hours of play for each battery. But, does the Nyko Charge Station live up to its promises or does it fail to deliver?

Nyko Charge Station: Build Quality and Appearance
Rating

While it is important for a product to perform what it is made to do, it is also important for the product to be aesthetically pleasing as well. Unfortunately, the Nyko Charge Station for Xbox 360's battery packs that are included look almost identical to the Microsoft branded rechargeable packs. The color of the Nyko Charge Station blends nicely with the black wireless controllers and connects perfectly with the controller.

The Nyko Charge Station for Xbox 360 itself has a nice clean design that keeps it simple. On the Nyko Charge Station, there are two LED lights that shows when a battery is charging or finished. However, the LED lights are not accurate at showing when a battery is full. When I took a battery pack out of the charging station when the LED was off, and placed it back in, the LED light on the Nyko Charge Station would turn right back on. This shows that either the battery is not completely charged or the LED lights are not a good way to judge the charge of a battery.

While the lights may not show an accurate measurement, the design of the two components are clean and easy to use.

Nyko Charge Station: Performance
Rating

Right out of the box, I was able to put the batteries in the Nyko charge station and get the charge running. I have read many complaints online about having the batteries that come with the Nyko Charge Station for Xbox 360 dead on arrival, making it impossible to charge unless with a separate cable. I encountered this problem later on, when returning from vacation, that the battery would not charge. After leaving the battery in the charger for a couple hours, it suddenly sprang back to life. This unreliable charging with the Nyko Charge Station makes it hard for those who do not play for several days and an inconvenience for those who just want a quick game.

On the first few days of using the battery with the Nyko Charge System for Xbox 360, it gave average times of around 20- 25 hours at most. This is considered good for a product not created by Microsoft. However, after a month or two, the battery life began to drop noticebly. While this may be okay for those who play for less than an hour every day, it becomes a chore recharging the batteries over and over again. Presently, I receive around 8-10 hours per charge from the Nyko Charge Station, which is not acceptable to my standards.

With an unreliable charging system and a decreasing battery life, the performance of the Nyko batteries and Nyko Charge Station are below average and not suitable for those who play for more than a few hours.

Pros of the Nyko Charge Station

Clean Interface

Cheaper than official charging station

LED lights indicicates of battery is charging

Fast charging times

Comes with two rechargeable batteries

Cons of the Nyko Charge Station

Unreliable LED lights

Issues with batteries charging after long times of no use

Rapidly decreasing battery life

Conclusion

The Nyko Charging Station for Xbox 360 accomplishes its task of allowing Xbox 360 users to charge rechargeable packs for wireless controllers. It fails to do this efficiently however with an unreliable charging system. This varies from each station so it is a hit and miss. With the official Microsoft charging station a few dollars more (or cheaper depending on the place) I would suggest paying the extra cash for the Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit. If you would rather take the risk, the Nyko Charge Station is a mediocre system with its flaws.