After reading the rant over at Joystiq about the 360's Play & Charge kit, I saw a similar rant over at ColdForged.org, but this one had a solution. Instead of playing and charging, you charge then play. I know the idea seems radical, but hear me out. Using regular AA rechargeable batteries you can recharge one pair while using another in the controller, thereby negating any pesky unplayable time. Bonus feature: you have a handy AA battery charger for all sorts of household devices. ColdForged reports excellent charge duration due to the batteries' 2500mAh storage rating (anyone know what the Play & Charge battery is rated at?) Is this why Microsoft never released the battery charger? Because it's no different than a simple pair of affordable, universal AAs?
