Induction charging is cool. We all know this. There are multiple units out now for most consoles and the one I have here is specifically for the Xbox 360.

The Exspect Drop N Charge Kit for the Xbox 360 includes a charging plate, 360 controller battery, wall plug adapter and a USB cable. It can charge up to two controllers at a time but since Ionly had the one battery that’s all I ever did. All you need to do is drop in the battery on your controller and then place the controller in the designated area on the charging plate.

It really is that simple. This lets you get a little charge into the controller while away in the kitchen, using the toilet or whatever else you might need to do in between marathon gaming sessions. And by marathon I really do mean it. The battery supplied with the unit took a full charge and then about a week of gaming to drain. I’d estimate it was a good 10-12 hours of actual gaming but I might be a little off. The package says that 4 hours of charging will give 8 hours of gameplay but I had a better experience which is always a bonus.

However, while I was away from the office for four days the remainder of the battery charge did dissipate which caught me off guard. When I returned I had to begin charging the unit to even get it to power up and be used to navigate the X360 menu system. This is probably due to the fact that I used nearly every last ounce of energy in it and what was left wasn’t enough to get anything up and running.

The great thing about the unit is that you can drop the controller on there at any time. Yes, it takes up a USB port on the Xbox 360 but it’s no different than if you had a controller plugged into that port. In fact with the included wall adapter, you don’t even need to take up that port if you have a spare outlet available in the very near area. The cable is only about a 1.5 meters (4.5 feet) in length so it’s range is a little limited.

What I didn’t like was the very bright lights on the unit. Red for standby, flashing green for charging and solid green for fully charged. They are bright enough to possibly be annoying if the unit is in your bedroom. I jokingly said that they are like Christmas-like nightlights but in reality, they are.

Overall I’m quite impressed with the unit. The battery didn’t seem to add any extra bulk or weight and outperformed what it says on the packaging. The unit charges fairly quickly and even with a completely dead battery it was in a usable state within a matter of 30 seconds. Of course it still needed to charge but it was enough to navigate the system. Not a bad piece of kit from the people at Exspect.