Wiicharging the Wiimote  E-mail
Written by Billy Shih   
Friday, 16 March 2007

Being the greenest and whitest next-gen console, the Wii is an obvious choice for the EcoGeek. However, if you have one, you know that finishing the 70-hour Zelda or perfecting your swing in Wii Sports takes a killing in the battery department. With four controllers and addicting gameplay, batteries stack up quickly in price and waste. Unfortunately, the Wii and extra remotes comes with two toxic, disposable alkaline batteries no matter what, but there are some good alternatives around.

Thankfully accessory manufacturers see the problem too and are releasing various rechargeable Wii remote batteries and chargers. The most practical ones are dual remote charging stations like Nyko’s Wii Charge Station and Joytech’s Wii Power Station that let you recharge without taking out the batteries. They come with two batteries that form the bottom half of the controller and the battery itself. These replace the original Wii battery cover and fit into the battery slot. Like a wireless phone, the remotes are charged simply by being placed into the charging station. Nyko and Joytech’s stations come with two slots so two remotes can be charged at a time. Also if you prefer the single player experience, Brando is producing a single nunchuck-remote holder and charging station.

If you don’t mind the inconvenience of taking the batteries out to charge, conventional rechargeable batteries work with the Wii also and thankfully there’s new innovations going on there. Sanyo’s eneloop and Rayovac’s Hybridrechargeable batteries have been out for a few months and getting positive reviews. Both use advanced NiMH technology to last longer than regular rechargeables and they work right out of the box. Lastly, the USBCELL USB rechargeable batteries that we’ve heard so much about work great for the Wii since it has a USB port on it. It will only let you charge one at a time though since two won’t fit in the Wii, but it’s still a convenient (and space saving) alternative.

For more on batteries, check out our battery guide from the holidays.

Via: Engadget


Comments (4)add
Why not use the motion of the wii?
written by Alex Marshall , May 01, 2007
The Wii remote is designed to be in constant motion during use so why not use impliment something similar to what is found in a kinetic watch that will charge the remote during gameplay and can be supplimented in a charging station if required?
yes
written by Ben , May 24, 2007
kinetic charging sounds great. i alternate from 1 set of rechargable batterys to the other. not 100% energy efficient but at least im not binning batterys every 3 days.
mechanically charged remote control ?
written by Ludovic , June 11, 2007
I remember I heard about RC you can charge by using a small dynamo... I found that funny as a message for eco-friends. Does anybody heard about that ?
I'm working in a WW computer company, I'd like to make a eco-project with this.
Any info welcome !
Eco-Friendly rechargeable Wii
written by apparel closeout , October 14, 2007
The most eco-friendly solution to recharging your Wii remote is using one of the Li-Pol rechargeable batteries available on the market, specially designed for Wii,since they're the least toxic of all batteries , including alkalines.
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