Joytech Power Station (Wii) Hardware Review

One of the major gripes about the Wii Remote, is that it lacked the option of rechargeable batteries. This was a very big gripe considering how fast the remote eats up batteries, and it didn’t look like Nintendo were going to address the issue anytime soon, so some of the third party manufactuers took it up-on themselves to fill the needs of the Wii owners. One of them was Joytech, and it’s their Wii Remote battery charging dock, the Joytech Wii Power Station that we’ll be taking a look at today.

For $49.95 AUD, you get the charging dock, two replacement battery covers with the rechargeable battery packs attached, and one power cable. The charging dock itself has four retractable arms(two on either side of the unit) that are meant for holding the nun-chuck attachments. Frankly, I found these to be pretty useless, as they didn’t really hold the nun-chucks in place, and even when they are retracted, they don’t do much for the aesthetics of the unit…which is otherwise fantastic. The remotes themselves, after having the new batteries attached, fit nice and snug in the dock, even with the safety straps poking out.(I tried with both the thick and thins straps) Being the owner of a Logitech wireless mouse, I was weary of the metal connectors not actually connecting properly, and thus not charging. This is not the case here, as I’m yet to throw the controllers in and have them not connect. Joytech did well here. Once the controller is in, a light turns on to indicate the state of the controller’s battery life; red means it’s charging, green means it’s charged. There’s a light for each one, so there’ll be no confusion as to which one’s charging and which one’s charged. If the included booklet is to be believed, the packs should take 5 hours to fully recharge. The batteries themselves are Ni-MH, but I don’t know their rating(it’s not on the pack, or in any of the documentation or their website), and I can’t seem to get at the batteries themselves to check without busting the cover open. This is disappointing, as without knowing their rating, it’s hard to gauge the battery life, and compare them with regular rechargeable AA batteries. Those of you who like using those rubber protectors for you Wiimotes may have issues, since the dock is designed to fit naked controllers in it, and the extra thickness of the protector would most likely stop the controller from fitting in the dock.

The battery covers need a bit of force to get them on properly, so don’t be afraid to apply some force to get the covers on. The competing Nyko charging dock comes with battery covers as well, but theirs have rubber grips built in. Some may prefer those to the plain-jane Joytech ones, but it’s each to their own really. That said, it looks like Joytech have tried to replicate the plastic used on the official remotes as close as possible, and I doubt most could tell the difference in plastics. It also sticks out a tiny bit where the battery clip is, but again, it’s hardly noticeable, and I doubt it would fly out mid-game.

I was expecting the power cable to be of the USB variety, and was surprised to see that it, in-fact, is a passthrough cable that plugs directly into the power socket of the Wii, with the console’s power supply cable piggy-backing into the back of it. This is(in theory) better than USB because that means that your batteries should be getting more power, faster. It’s also better than an independent mains power supply since you won’t have to scrounge up another power socket. But on the other hand, as I found out, it makes your Wii longer, and if your shelf isn’t deep enough, it maybe force your Wii to hang over your shelf by a centimetre or two. Not too much of an issue, more of a minor annoyance if your shelf lacks depth.

All up, I am initally impressed, but I’m not sure how they’ll go in the long term as I haven’t really had time to test out the battery life. I will revisit this article again to give you guys an idea of how long the batteries should last, and we’ll try and contact Joytech for some official numbers.
For those of you in the market for a Wii Remote charging dock, this is currently the best option you have locally, and in my opinion, it’s a worth the asking price. I am again impressed with Joytech’s build quality in a market filled with cheap, overpriced products…though I haven’t tried it, the only other option in the Australian market that I’ve seen(a $25 single dock that’s local re-badging of the Penguin United Wii Remote Charging Dock), looked of poor quality, and I was turned off buying it for that reason alone. It’s early days though, and there are more options on the horizon, with products from Thurstmaster, Nyko, Powerwave being close to release, and other manufacturers like Futuretronics are sure to release something in the future. So it may be wise to wait it out a bit and let the market fill out a bit more so that you make your choice, or even hit up the old Ebay to see what’s coming out of Asia.

Pros:

-No more batteries!
-No need for an extra power point to charge them.

Cons:

–Owners of those rubber Wiimote protectors may have issues.
-Useless nun-chuck holders kinda ruin the aesthetics.
-Power socket may force your Wii to hang over its shelf if you don’t have enough room.