One of the things about the Playstation 3 that drives me absolutely nuts is how Sony designed the charging of controllers. The console must be on, the USB cable that Sony provides for charging the controller is barely two feet long, and you can’t simply replace the batteries in the controller. There are other workarounds, like charging from another USB source (which doesn’t always work), but good design shouldn’t require workarounds.
Fortunately, this provides opportunity for third party solutions, which can oftentimes provide better outcomes than the original solution. Such is the case with the Nyko Charge Base 3. Like good design, the Nyko solution is simple: attach a dongle (magnetic USB adapter) to your PS3 controller, rest it in the charger, turn it on, and walk away. Charging is fast and simple. The magnetic USB adapters are easy to install and don’t interfere with holding or operating the controller. The magnetic plates makes placing and removing the controller on the charger easy, plus the magnets keep the controller aligned properly. The charger also has an adhesive footpad to secure the charger to your shelf or TV cabinet, though I found it unnecessary.
The charger provides feedback with different LED lighting. When the system is on, but the controllers do not need charging, the light is green. When controllers are charging, the light turns orange. The charger can charge both Sixaxis and DualShock controllers and, let’s face it, holding the controllers in a gravity-defying horizontal position, it looks pretty damn cool, too.
As far as I can tell, you can’t buy additional USB adapters, which would be nice if you have more than two controllers, and you can’t charge Move controllers with the Charge Base 3 (but Nyko has another product for that). Having used the Nyko Charge Base 3 for about a month now, I can’t imagine having a PS3 without it.
Disclosure: GeekDad was sent a unit for review.
