I only have the play and charge kit for the 360, it doesn't work anymore, it broke down. Maybe the XB1 is better? And hopefully it's micro usb?
Fixed powerpacks versus replaceable AA's in controllers *spawn
- Thread starter mrcorbo
- Start date
I only have the play and charge kit for the 360, it doesn't work anymore, it broke down. Maybe the XB1 is better? And hopefully it's micro usb?
Well if anything this thread has shown me to never underestimate the variety of ways people use their consoles. If you had told me with a straight face that you use a corded controller to play console games I would have never in a million years believed it. In fact I would have laughed assuming it was a joke. Yet here we are in 2014 and people apparently are indeed doing it. It blows my mind, but there it is. I guess you just never know. Same with choice of built in battery, I always viewed that as a heavy negative on the psx controller side yet others see it as a positive. Once again something I never expected and still don't get it but it is what it is. I'm just glad very few devices force that on us, I just imagine what if my power tools ran out of battery power and rather than just swap the battery like I do now, imagine if I had to then find a 15 foot cable and plug the tool in to keep working. Stranger yet, imagine some people found that to be a positive! I don't know, I'll just bin this in the I Really Don't Get It file and move on because, well, I really never will understand it so why waste any more cycles on it.
djskribbles
Legend
I always saw it as a positive, or a feature, when a wireless device has a built in battery. For example, I've seen many portable audio devices where the higher-end models have built in batteries and the lower-end models use standard batteries. Or wireless mice/keyboards. Has anyone honestly seen a higher-end model have user replaceable batteries, but the lower-end model had a built in battery? I can honestly say that I haven't.
Power tools (or any other power hungry devices) are another story. You can easily go through a full charge in a workday, whereas it is difficult to go through a full charge on a controller in one sitting.
More and more cellphones are sealing the case / making the battery non-user replaceable. Samsung is one of the only big phone makers that consistently makes the battery user replaceable. LG, Apple, Sony, HTC and Motorola all have non-user replaceable batteries in their flagship phones. Even the higher-end Nokia phones (not very familiar with Nokia, dunno what their flagship phone is ATM).
The -ONLY- issue with built in batteries, is that they're non-user replaceable for when they do eventually die, but that shouldn't and usually doesn't happen for several years. There's a good chance that something else will stop working by the time the battery stops holding a charge.
Microsoft's battery situation is more versatile, but comes at an additional cost. I feel Sony's battery situation is more modern and (IMO) more convenient (vs using standard batteries), with the downside being that it's not user replaceable.
dobwal's post pretty much sums it up. Different strokes for different folks. I also doubt anyone here would make a console purchase decision based on the batteries in the controller. Some people are just blowing things way out of proportion.
Last edited by a moderator:
What are you talking about Willis!!!!???
I run corded power tools. Mostly because they cheaper and are better products at their price range. I have a weak battery based drill for little small jobs like removing a screw. But i have a corded hammer drill for things like anchoring things to cement or stone.
djskribbles
Legend
Yup, that's why they still make and sell corded power tools. They're power hungry and shouldn't be compared to videogame controllers.
Last edited by a moderator:
Depends on what you're doing and where you're doing it when it comes to power tools. I've got a small pneumatic impact socket wrench...works great if you have the compressor nearby but an electric one with a swap out battery is more convenient. Same with a drill/screw driver, my cordless Makita is much more convenient than a corded version. Being tethered becomes a huge annoyance when trying to get your power tools into tight places.
The DS3 battery was replaceable and as i said earlier there was a description in the manual for the PS3..
Not that it's really needed but here is the ifixit guide, with all the power tools mentioned here i am sure this is not a challenge:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/DualShock+3+Battery+Replacement/3255
DS4, i don't know, but if it becomes a hassle the battery can be upgraded, which i am sure Sony does when they run out of the old DS3 batteries
Really? Holy smokes, so when you have to use one in the attic or outside you run a cable all the way to where you are working? Cordless tools now are often more powerful than their corded counterparts, for example our hammer drill is cordless and can drill through concrete with ease and you don't have to worry about tripping breakers or frayed cables. Same with our cordless circular saw, I've cut brick and stone with it 100+ feet away from the nearest outlet with no trouble at all. I guess different strokes man, I don't know what else to say!
djskribbles
Legend
Yup me too, as do most people. I have one for each of our phones, and I bought one on ebay for $4 that I can keep by my PS4. I imagine families with 3 or more phones would have even more chargers. But we've already gone through this...joker feels that it is retro to have multiple phone chargers in a house, like it would be such an eyesore to have a tiny phone charger by your PS4 to keep your controller charged.
Sump thread: sump harder
If the battery runs low on my mobile phone, I generally stop using my mobile phone while it charges.
If I had a ready supply of fully charged batteries that I could swap into my mobile phone, I would rather change the battery than try to use my mobile phone while connected to a charger. In general, I see having to sit next to a plug socket while using my mobile phone as being one of the undesirable limitations of said mobile phone.
I'll be completely honest here: I tend to not use my mobile phone while it is connected to a plug socket by a wire.
"Phones have built in batteries!! Tablets have built in batteries!! Vibrating cock rings have built in batteries!!"
And you wouldn't want to use any with a cord attached.
In general, having a wire attached to your wireless device reduces the freedom with which you can move around while using the wireless device. Being able to use the wireless device *without* a wire attached could almost be seen as one of the perks of having a wireless device.
If the battery runs low on my mobile phone, I generally stop using my mobile phone while it charges.
If I had a ready supply of fully charged batteries that I could swap into my mobile phone, I would rather change the battery than try to use my mobile phone while connected to a charger. In general, I see having to sit next to a plug socket while using my mobile phone as being one of the undesirable limitations of said mobile phone.
I'll be completely honest here: I tend to not use my mobile phone while it is connected to a plug socket by a wire.
"Phones have built in batteries!! Tablets have built in batteries!! Vibrating cock rings have built in batteries!!"
And you wouldn't want to use any with a cord attached.
In general, having a wire attached to your wireless device reduces the freedom with which you can move around while using the wireless device. Being able to use the wireless device *without* a wire attached could almost be seen as one of the perks of having a wireless device.
djskribbles
Legend
There's essentially 3 sides to this argument: built-in battery vs replaceable, and corded vs cordless. This is more about built-in vs replaceable than corded vs cordless. I too am surprised some use it corded all the time, but I'm sure corded represents a small fraction of the PS3/PS4 userbase.
Anyway, on the phone comparison, phones are completely mobile and can be used anywhere. Controllers are confined to your gaming space. Phone usage is also completely random, whereas gamers typically reserve an hour or more for gaming time, so charge patterns aren't the same. I can play my typical 1-2 hour session, plug the controller into my charger and come back to a fully charged controller each and every single time.
With XB1, you can either do the same with the play/charge kit. Or you can keep a set of batteries charged and ready to go so that when the batteries die, you can swap them and continue playing. So honestly... what's so damn hard about either?
Anyway, on the phone comparison, phones are completely mobile and can be used anywhere. Controllers are confined to your gaming space. Phone usage is also completely random, whereas gamers typically reserve an hour or more for gaming time, so charge patterns aren't the same. I can play my typical 1-2 hour session, plug the controller into my charger and come back to a fully charged controller each and every single time.
With XB1, you can either do the same with the play/charge kit. Or you can keep a set of batteries charged and ready to go so that when the batteries die, you can swap them and continue playing. So honestly... what's so damn hard about either?
Last edited by a moderator:
I can understand some people having issues with the Play & Charge Kit, but I never had. Is the problem with the battery or the cable/charger? As for the XB1, yes, it uses a standard micro USB connector. One good thing about getting the official cable is it has a LED light in it shows if it's charging or not. If you don't care about that, then any cheap USB cable will work.
So does the XB1, provided you have the rechargeable battery pack. You can even run corded to the XB1 without batteries if you want.
Yes, it costs you a little more for the convenience, but we're talking about the cost of a game. Don't understand why Sony users here are caring so much for paying more for stuff because I always thought they prided themselves on paying more for better kit anyways.
A lot like Apple users do. I never seen Microsoft as trying to nickel & dime so much as they are trying to support all kinds of users & different price points. The Arcade model with no hard drive or wireless controller was proof of that. Anyway, different strokes for different folks indeed.Tommy McClain
BECAUSE!!!
Bigus Dickus
Regular
Logitech G700 and G700s mice. As far as I'm concerned, this is the pinnacle of the Logitech line, and for my (non gaming) use is superior to any MS, Razer or other offering.
Standard rechargeable AA battery. Strangely enough, even though I use the USB cable exclusively to charge it (MS should have done this with their controllers, allow the controller to be a charger for the standard exchangeable batteries), I probably wouldn't have three of these mice now if it had a built in battery. Perhaps its my usage cycles, but over the past few years I've had to replace the battery at least once for each of them. Even a great battery struggles to survive a full shift, and any degradation is very noticeable. Since I despise having to work tethered, more time in the cable would be a huge deterrent. Only if Logitech promised that an integrated battery would double charge time would I even consider it.
Anyway, you wanted an example, there it is.
Joker already covered that one. He doesn't need chargers because his phone lasts all day on one charge. If everyone else was sensible and not living in the dark ages, they'd have similar (Windows) phones.
Of course, his phone only manages that because it's a 6 inch phablet, released a few months ago, with a large powerpack and a suitable price-tag. But of course people buying small phones or using older phones on older tech are completely off their tree because their phones won't last a whole day on one charge. The only intelligent thing to do is get rid of your phone, buy a large (Windows*) phone, and ditch one's mobile phone chargers. And then, having been sensible regards one's phone, one won't have chargers around for charging other devices, so the sensible thing to do then is ditch those devices and buy ones that take AAs. Everyone else making difference choices is plain crazy!!
* that really doesn't make any difference
djskribbles
Legend
Most people I know can easily get through a day on their phones and yet they still have multiple phone chargers in the house. Phones are getting bigger and the average battery life is also getting better. I remember my old phones would struggle to get through a day. Now I can easily go a day and a half, sometimes 2 days+ with light-medium usage, and my phone isn't even considered to be great in terms of battery life (Nexus 4).
Since every phone or tablet comes with a charger, most households have at least 2 in the house. My brother has a Note 3 and his house has more chargers than mine.
Since every phone or tablet comes with a charger, most households have at least 2 in the house. My brother has a Note 3 and his house has more chargers than mine.
Last edited by a moderator:
I use a MS wireless mouse with AA battery. I wouldn't even consider a mouse where I couldn't swap the battery out and instantly have full operation back immediately. I normally get a couple of weeks out of a fully charged 2500 battery.
I think that's why AA powered mice are still the norm.
I used to get a week out of my Symbian Nokia. My Windows Phone 7 (lol smart move) does about 2 days of medium use.
Phone battery life these days is awful, even on standby.
Archaeologists recently discovered an old Bronze age brick Nokia that still had two bars of charge.
Similar threads
