ORB Xbox 360 Dual Charge & Play Battery Pack Review

Probably the first accessory most gamers buy to go with their shiny new Xbox 360 consoles is some form of rechargeable battery solution, whether in the form of a charging dock or a play & charge kit. Of these the play & charge variety is the more popular and usually more affordable option, and scores points by basically eliminating down-time while charging. Obviously Microsoft have their own play & charge kit on the market, but for those willing to shop around there are other options worth looking at too, including the Dual Charge & Play Battery Pack from ORB.

Obviously the actual function, to keep you in the game while your controller is charging, is the same, but there are a few differences between this and the official rechargeable battery kit. The first thing you might notice is that the battery in the ORB kit is lighter than the Microsoft battery. In fact, it is a similar weight to the standard controller's battery housing holding two normal AA batteries. Secondly, the ORB battery connects to the controller through the AA battery terminals, not the flat terminal in the center of the battery as with Microsoft's version, but this is of little concern to the end user.

Once the battery is connected to the controller and it's time for a recharge, the next major difference becomes apparent. Unlike the official rechargeable battery which has its charge cable connecting to the controller and feeding its charge through to the battery, here the cable goes directly into the battery itself via a tiny input on the back. It's worth mentioning because I actually had to adjust my usual grip slightly due to the cable's connection position, because one of my fingers tended to rest over the input jack. The positioning also means that when you put the controller down it can't lie down flat, and instead is held up buy the cable which comes out perpendicular to the back of the controller. Next to the cable input is a small LED indicator which lights up when the battery pack is connected to your Xbox 360 via the USB cable. Strangely though, this green LED doesn't change colour, staying green as long as the battery is plugged in, which means you have no idea when the controller is fully charged.

While examining the ORB battery pack may yield differences between this and the official product, actually using it results in a pretty much identical experience. Since there is no way to know when it is fully charged I had to take the supplied documentation's word for it and let it charge for around six hours, and then got down to some serious gaming. It's hard to compare battery life between two products because the use of rumble features affect it dramatically, but I can say with confidence that the ORB battery held up well against that of the Microsoft Play & Charge kit. I must add that I tried it with a few different controllers, and in one instance I found that the controller would sometimes switch itself off while I was playing even though plugged in, but this was an isolated issue. Other than that, using the ORB battery was no different to using the official version.

Which brings us to the big question: if the actual play experience is just about the same (once the battery is charged and the somewhat odd cable connection position is no longer an issue), how does one decide which to buy. I'll have to say that essentially it comes down to your budget. For a recommended retail price of around R240 (shop around though, because some retailers have it for around the R200 mark), you get two rechargeable batteries and two charge cables, whereas the Microsoft product is a little more expensive, and it only includes one battery and one cable. There is a difference in build quality, with the Microsoft battery and cable feeling more solid and substantial, and the cables supplied with the ORB batteries could be a bit short for some, a full meter shorter than the Microsoft version. With Microsoft's kit you get a LED which lets you know when the battery is fully charged, and the position of the cable connection means it won't get in your way while playing. With the ORB kit, on the other hand, you effectively get two charge & play kits for the price of one. It may not be of the same quality as the official version, but it does a good enough job and is a worthy option for those on a budget.

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