I was having problems with my wireless controllers shutting off during games. After some troubleshooting, I found out that it was the AA batteries losing connection. When I bumped or shook the controller, it would turn off. Even the lightest tap from my ring would turn it off. My temporary solution to this was to remove the battery cover and then pull the springs up more so they would hold the batteries in tighter. This worked for a while, but now that doesn't seem to be doing the trick anymore.

My new solution was to buy the play & charge kit. Problem solved! The rechargeable battery packs don't use the AA battery springs so now I can tap and shake the controller as much as I want and it stays on. No more frustration controller disconnects for me. I'm going to buy the rechargeable batteries for all three of my controllers.

The only downside that I've seen so far is that the battery life isn't as long as two AA's. But it's really not much of a downside because it's so easy to just plug in the cable and let it charge while you play. Your Xbox will even finish charging the battery after you turn the 360 off so it'll be at full charge the next time you play. Very cool!

Overall, this is a great product and a must have for any Xbox 360 owner.

This is a must-have for any serious Xbox 360 owner. Not only will you save money on batteries and help the environment, but the convenience is undoubtedly worth it.

The battery pack fits snugly and securely into the back of the controller where the regular batteries would go. You can play for dozens of hours without needing to recharge, but when your controller is finally on its last legs you simply plug the charge side of the cord (which fits into any of the 360's USB ports) into the top slit on the controller. You're able to play while the batteries recharge, and the cord is long enough to allow you to sit a fair distance away. However, it takes such a short amount of time to fully recharge that it'll be a very brief fix! There is a light on the cord top to indicate the batteries' charge as well; red means to leave it in for a while, and green means you're good to go!

This is the black-colored version of the Play & Charge Kit. It comes with both the charging cord and the battery pack. There is a white version to match the more common white controller, but the color of the charge kit is simply for aesthetics; they're interchangeable for either controller. I have the regular white controller and am using the black version with it, though surprisingly it still looks nice with the 360 controller's white and gray theme.

Bottom line: Perfect product. 5 stars. Get it if you don't already have it.

This one is pretty straightforward. Does as it was intended. It's nice to not have to replace batteries all the time. If i was smart maybe i would have just gotten normal rechargeable AA's that i could use in any product, but this is pretty convenient since the charging cable also allows me to use the controller in a wired state.

The cable is a decent length, and I really don't give a crap that the black doesn't match my white controllers, given that it was roughly four bucks cheaper at the time of purchase, for some inexplicable reason (other than maybe the general lack of black controllers which, i guess, would only come as pack-ins with the elite or purchased separately).

For what its goal is, this unit does the job well. The charge doesn't last as long as I'd like (typically about 5-6 power sessions of Call of Duty 4, by my count), but the charge cord is long enough to turn the remote into wired when I don't need to sit far away.

Overall, quite a handy piece of equipment. I'd recommend this to anyone with an Xbox 360.

This is great. When the battery is low I can just plug it in to charge it. It also charges when you turn off the console until it's full, then shuts off the charging feature. This will save a lot on AA batteries!

Cable is a bit long but that could be a good thing if you want to play from far away. It would be great if there's a way to charge a battery that's not plugged into the controller using the same cable.