Reviewed: May 14, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Manufacturer
Global-Accessory
Type: Dual Battery Charging Cradle
System: PSP
Rating: 5.0
MSRP: $25.80
Features
When I was asked if I wanted to review the new Dual Batteries Desktop Charging Cradle for PSP I thought, “Sure…why not?" I’m always looking for innovative ways to extend my handheld gaming time and keep my batteries at top charge. This new product offered several key features that nobody else was offering, and while those features intrigued me in the press release, once I started using the Dual Battery Charging Cradle I couldn’t help but think if anybody else would.
There is certainly nothing wrong with this accessory, either in looks, functionality, or performance, but the device relies on several assumptions, most importantly, the assumption that the PSP gamer in question owns at least one or two extra batteries for their PSP. I’m as hardcore a PSP gamer as there is and it is only by sheer random luck that I own a second PSP battery. I can’t imagine anybody else owning one, or at least enough people to warrant a peripheral such as this.
This Dual Charger offers a nice tilt display cradle that allows you to display your PSP on your desktop while charging one or two extra batteries in the tray behind the tilt stand. It will also charge the battery inside your PSP for a total of three batteries that can all be charged all at once.
The tilt cradle is cool, but it assumes you want to display your PSP while charging and this usually assumes you are watching movies or at the very least, listening to music. To that end, it would have been much more useful to have some speakers built into this cradle rather than merely relying on you to have your own external speakers or headphones.
The Dual Charging Cradle comes in two versions, the first using its own proprietary power supply that will fast-charge your batteries in under two hours, and the second relying on the AC adapter that came with your PSP, which takes 2.5 hours. The three LED’s on the front of the cradle indicate the current charging status.
The version I received for review had a European power plug, so I had to use my own plug. It worked just fine and I didn’t even notice (or care) about the extra 30 minutes. As I already mentioned, the fact I even own a second battery is merely the luck of finding a really cheap one at a clearance sale and buying it “just in case” my original battery starts to flake out on me. It’s not like I exhaust one battery and swap it out with another on a regular basis.
So while the Dual Batteries Charging Cradle does what it promises, I just don’t see the need for such a device, and with any hardware peripheral you have to identify a need to be successful. I’m sure a few gamers out there own two or more batteries for their PSP, but I seriously doubt they have ever found the need to swap them around so fast as to require simultaneous charging.
The bottom line is that there are already movie tilt stands out there with fantastic speakers built in, and there are already charger cases, wall outlet chargers, and new extended-power batteries to keep you gaming longer while away from home. And for the $25 you’ll spend on this accessory, you could easily buy any of those others and get better results.