Sanyo releases new, Motion Plus-approved, contact-free Eneloop Wiimote charger
By Tim Stevens 
posted Nov 12th 2009 8:34AM
posted Nov 12th 2009 8:34AM
If you ran out last year and bought one of Sanyo's Eneloop Wiimote chargers, the first to be officially approved by Nintendo and to allow charging whilst that ludicrously thick rubber cover was still in place, you were probably a bit bummed when it was obsoleted by the Motion Plus. Sanyo has a fix: you can now run out and buy a new charger! Yes, you too can help fuel the economy by tossing a perfectly functional yet now useless accessory into the trash and replacing it with something that does exactly the same thing with a little extra room at the bottom. Like before it's USB-powered and charges via induction, so no contacts are required, though there are now cavities for two Wiimotes rather than just one. No mention of a US release, but it'll be hitting Japan sometime next month for ¥7,400 -- about $80.
The condoms have to be the most ridiculous thing ever. Never used them. They should of made the controller shaped to fit the hand to begin with.
The "condoms" aren't to make the controller shaped to fit your hand -- they're to protect the controller / your AV equipment in the event the thing goes flying across the room...
Condoms are never helped anything fit in anything, hand or otherwise.
Will it charge my electric toothbrush too?
Induction based? That's pretty bad ass.
Does anyone still even play this?
Everyone I know who ran out and bought one used it for two weeks and hasn't since.
Induction charging is a very clever and worthwhile solution to the problem of having a jacket cover the battery compartment.
Although I solved the same problem myself by fitting a normal rechargeable battery, and cutting a hole where the socket is.
$80?? I'll stick to "AA" Eneloop rechargeable batteries, thank you very much.
$80???????
You can buy the Wii Energizer Flat Panel 2x Induction Charger for $29.99 at BestBuy or Walmart and it works perfect with the Plus controler.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Energizer+-+Flat-Panel+2x+Induction+Charge+System+for+Nintendo+Wii/9543103.p?skuId=9543103&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=9543103&ref=06&loc=01&id=1218121947512
Do we need to use special battery for this kind of charger?
Bingo! I have one of these at home and it's great. Special batteries included. This is the best option on the market. They have a four controller charging option that looks cool too. Energizer has been experimenting with this for a while and they've perfected it. Amazon free ship ftw!
http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Energizer-Panel-Induction-Charger-Nintendo/dp/B0027IS82K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1258044251&sr=8-6
Or the actual Energizer WiiMote Induction Charging station that comes with batteries for $29.99.. Save yourself $50. This post should have laughed at that $80 pricetag.
http://videogames.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?r=1&EAN=708056075262&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Search-_-Q000000630-_-Video%20game-_-708056075262&ourl=Video-game%2FWii-Energizer-Induction-Charger
Do you have one of those? I've been thinking about picking one up but I've been kinda skeptical
@Mark
Mine works perfect, never gave it a second thought after installing.
Induction charging also wastes a lot of electricity. It's a lot less economical than plugging something in directly.
YES!! Thank god someone else recognizes this! In this age of "green" when we all all so damn concerned about power waste that we are supposed to unplug our wall warts when they are not in use it is more than a little annoying to me, as an engineer, to see so much attention drawn to inductive charging. It is HORRIFICALLY INEFFICIENT! If they has put a couple of little metal contact studs on it (like most cordless phones) the thing would probably be 10-50x more efficient (depending on design).
Inductive charging is not a good idea, kids. Cool as hell, but really wasteful.
Protection? What, a string wasn't enough for ya?
It only makes sense if the Sanyo Batteries are 250% better than the Engergizer rechargeable ones.
They're pretty close. Eneloop batteries are wonderful. They've beaten out my energizer, duracell, and maxell batteries in unscientific relative terms.
This is awesome- but not for $80.
If they really wanted to be green they should make wiimotes that charge from the kinetic energy from the motion of playing Wii.
ummm, DreamGear's has always been compatible...
http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Wireless-Charging-Power-Base-Nintendo/dp/B0026P2QN6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1258059721&sr=8-6