Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit rocks and shocks [update 1]

by Vladimir Cole on Apr 10th 2006 4:15PM

Here's the 30-second review on the just-released Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit.

FAST: It charges batteries fast (two hours per battery)
SEXY: It's sleek, small, and well-designed. It can be placed in an out-of-the-way spot.
BETTER: The wired Play and Charge Kit that's been available since launch is inferior and annoying compared to the Quick Charge Kit because the play-and-charge cables muck up the clean look of the beautiful Xbox 360 controller with a mess of tangled, ugly cords. This kit solves one of our chief annoyances with the Xbox 360 wireless controllers.
EASY: Like any good charger, the LEDs indicate when the battery is charging. Each of the two LEDs (shown above) glows a steady red or green depending on the state of the battery that's charging. Batteries snick-snap into place easily and are simple to remove as well. The unit is smart enough to automatically power down after batteries have been topped off.
BOTTOM LINE: Free yourself from the tyranny and mess of cables and pick up a Quick Charge Kit.
VALUE: This is worth at least as much as two of the now-antiquated Play and Charge Kits. It's priced at $29.99 in the United States and is worth the cash, though we wish it had been bundled with the Xbox 360 from the get-go.
RELEASE DATE: Available in the US as of April 21, 2006, with worldwide launch in other countries "soon," according to Microsoft.

[Update 1: added price and release date information to last two bullets.]

Tags: hardware, xbox 360 controller, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (36)

I really wish companies would stop using red/green LEDs. Almost one third of all men(including myself) are Red/green colorblind and can't tell what the hell when our devices die on us. My DS will die in the middle of Wi-fi play because I had no idea the battery was low, and the thing is every electronics company uses Red/Green, when a lot of people can't tell the damn difference.

I can actually tell the difference between most reds and greens, but when it is a single LED bulb, I don't stand a chance.

Major Nelson's 4/9 podcast included an interview with someone from Microsoft who works with accessories, and that person indicated the quick charge kit should retail at around "$29.99-ish," but that it could vary between retailers.

Why not just use a standarad recharger? I have used one from day one once I realized what I was getting (AA rechargable batteries). This is lame IMO. With the cost difference go get a standard recharger with an extra set of batteries.

Does the charger still come with another battery? I thought I heard originally that it was supposed to come with a spare batter. That would make it worth it to me.

This:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000A1OFX/ref=e_deav_acc_1_2/002-5725267-8560828?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=3760901

combines with this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000A1OFV/002-5725267-8560828?v=glance&n=3760901

= way better (and cheaper) then this chargin kit from microsoft. It charges 8 TIMES!!!! faster then microsofts slow 2 hour charger and the batteries are universal (AA) which means you can use them on other devices then just your 360 controllers. I have 4 360 wireless controllers all powered by these batteries, not to mention like 20 more batteries of the same kind powering various other devices around the house + a few spares to use in the 15 mins while dead ones are charging.

Now thats way better value for your $. Furthermore, Durecel and Energizer both have 15 min chargers and batteries as well if you prefer those brands. No need to buy this microsoft propriatary crap, despite joystiq thinking its a good deal/priduct.

List price is indeed $29.99.

Most LEDs are red and green because those are the cheapest colors to manufacture and usually require less energy to operate than blue LEDs. It's just economics, they're not out to screw the colorblind.

And the Internet tells me that only about 7% of males are colorblind, I don't know where you're getting 1/3rd from.

Agree with #1, got that problem myself :)

That number sounds a lot more accurate Blargh. Not that I have a ton of discussions about it, but I can't think of a single friend of mine that's color blind. Let alone 33% of them.

I'm sure I've read close to 1/3 before. While it is around 9% worldwide(there's four different types of red-green colorblindness, usually only the first two types are counted, adds to 7), I believe it is much more prevalent in America, much like Lactose Intolerance is somewhat uncommon here in America, but throughout most of the rest of the world it is very common.

Blech, hell if I'm going to pay another 50 bucks (or even 30) just to save me from the occasional charge with the Play & Charge kit. I'll spend the small bit of extra effort to keep an eye on my controller's battery and charge it ahead of time.

I don't like how Microsoft is trying to milk us for all we are worth. I don't have a 360 but a friend of mine does. He doesn't know how to stop himself from buying so he gets more and more in debt. Microsoft charging us $100 for a hard drive, $50 for wireless controllers, and $60 for the games is putting him in debt. I'm not saying that Microsoft is the only company that loves our money, I'm sure Sony and Nintendo do too. I just would like them to stop making overpriced add-ons to their system so my friend can get out of debt.

i can only see myself picking one of these up over thet play&charge kits, if one of those unannounced peripherals, that will use the battery packs and be announced at E3, is anything exciting. (according to Major Nelson's most recent blogcast) i just hope that a wireless headset is among them so i can chat without carrying my controller around.

#4 - per Major Nelson' podcast from yesterday, yes.

They should bring the price point down to $20 and then I could see that flying off the shelvees. But at $30 it like a why bother product.

For what it's worth, GameStop's computers have it listed as $29.99.

ResidentGamer,
This comes with an extra battery as well. Those are going for $12-15 so you're paying $15-18 for the charger.

Naw. If I had 4 wireless controllers I'd buy it. But I only have one. When it needs charged, I'm set.

Btw, for the person with color blindness, your 360 wireless controller blinks at you when it needs charged. No different colors, precisely for this reason.

As I understand it, the units linked here work the opposite way: blinking when charging, solid when done.

Ah, that's cool. Wish Nintendo would do that.

I didn't realize that color blindness was so prevalent. I don't actually know anyone who is colorblind. You'd think someone would have developed a cure by now. How about using green/red filters?

Clearing up a few misperceptions:

1. The lights never blink.

2. The unit shuts off when batteries are charged. Even a colorblind person can tell when the LEDs are off.

3. The Quick Charge kit comes with the charge tower plus one rechargeable battery.

The play and charge kit works great with a stand-alone powered USB hub. Just plug in the hub next to your favorite chair ang BAM, start charging. Works wonders and doesn't clutter up the front of the 360 with cords for the wireless controller. I just purchased two from woot.com last week for only 6 bucks each.

Add one more to the list of colorblind people in this thread.

It isn't something that can be cured (it isn't a "disease"; it is a genetic disorder). We see fewer colors than other people -- adding filters or otherwise messing with the color spectrum will never fix the problem (as we can't see as many colors as non-colorblind people).

Think of it as the difference between 16bit and 24bit color. Once you convert a 24bpp image to a 16bpp image, you can't convert it back to a 24bpp image.

If you think power buttons like this are annoying, imagine how frustrating it is to play puzzle games where the only differentiating factor between pieces are their colors. Grrr....

1/3 of men are colorblind??? what planet are you posting from?

This is a dumb option. I use an Energizer 15-minute charger and NiMH batteries. They last just as long and I always have a backup pair charged and ready. Even if I forget to charge the backups, it only takes FIFTEEN minutes versus the TWO HOURS of this stupid thing.

Price? $34.99 and it came with four AA batteries.

Use your brains, people.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit $29.99 4/18[gamestop.com]
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802270

OK, it takes 2 hours to charge. How much time do bateries last? Thank you.

What are you thanking people for boots?

Well I only have to pay 15.99 for it, so thats alot cheaper than the Rayovac option.

The batteries last somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 hours on a single charge.

when is this supposed to come out of hit the stores? ive been waiting for it and now that baseball is coming out for the 360, im gonna need it bad. i hate the play and charge kits.

I still can't believe the lazy folks here at Joystiq are still harping on about the play and charge kit ruining the wireless controllers, just because they're too damn lazy to unplug the damn thing when the battery is finished charging.

I have a play and charge kit. It comes out every week and a half or so to top up my battery, then I roll up the cord and stick it away. Simple.

Lazy asses...

I have to agree with others here that Joystiq is way off on this. $30 Canadian bought me a 30 minute Energizer 15 minute charger, along with 4 2500mAh batteries.

I use rechargeables myself. I have about a dozen spares at all times. No problem.

PS/ You would think that if color blindness was so problematic in the US, that they would not use RED and GREEN for street lights. I agree that I do not know a single colorblind person.

Paul, can you put a little piece of red cellophane tape over the light? That way when it's green it'll be dim, and when it's red it'll shine fairly brightly through.

"PS/ You would think that if color blindness was so problematic in the US, that they would not use RED and GREEN for street lights."
Well one is on top, one is on bottom, so it's not that hard to see when to stop or go.
And to the kit, I might buy it if I have extra dough left over... I gotta get me DOA4 and maybe a faceplate and a controller and some other crap first.

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Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit rocks and shocks [update 1]

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