Here at Absolute Gadget we love the Nintendo Wii’s Wiimote, making gaming more immediate and accessible to those who have never played games before. It’s a great bit of kit, however when the juice runs out it can be a pain having to buy new batteries. We had a look at Thrustmaster’s T-Charge NW battery charger for the Wii, which hopes to solve this dilemma.

Billed as ‘the ideal recharging solution' the T-Charge includes 4 Nimh AA batteries, one set of 2 to pop into your Wiimote, and the other set so you can charge while playing.  

Simply plug the USB cable into your Nintendo Wii console's USB port or PC and the batteries stored in the back will be recharged by the unit while you play. This will also work while the Wii is in standby mode. 

Unfortunately the batteries supplied are only half charged, which is a tad unusual, although this is only a minor gripe as they can be recharged. When testing, the battery power lasted around 6-8 hours of gaming, which is a bit low compared to our Duracell's which lasted more than 16.  

Although the T-Charge is marketed as a gaming accessory it soon becomes apparent that it is an ordinary battery charger rather than one specifically suited to gaming. Only the fact that it features a dock for your Wiimote and Nunchuck as well as sleeves for the controls renders it a gaming accessory as the controls do not need to be in the dock to be charged as the batteries are stored in a compartment at the back while doing so.  

The sleeves themselves are made of black silicone and make the Wiimote and Nunchuk feel weightier in the hand and do add some grip to what has become known as one of the more dangerous gaming controllers of all time. What with the various Wii injuries and all. 

There is not a great deal more that can be said about the T-Charge. At £19.99 it is not a bad price point for a battery charger that comes with a dock to secure your Wii controls when not using them, not to mention sleeves for your controls that would cost £7.99 to purchase on their own. Nevertheless the T-Charge is a useful gadget if you don't want to spend a few bob buying new batteries and are the sort of person who misplaces their Wiimote.

The T-Charge NW from Thrustmaster is available from Amazon, See here.