Nyko PowerPack+ 3DS battery

[Pic0o]

Happy MLK Day and Monday. I wanted to take a few to share my feedback and notes about the Nyko PowerPack+ for 3DS systems. Instead of me writing up what I have been able to confirm from the Joystiq review, please give that a read as it was my basis for giving this replacement battery a go.

 

I do want to mention an immediate thing about the 1st picture of that review. The battery is not securely installed, as you will see a gap in the upper right corner. Like the original backplate of the 3DS, the replacement battery has 4 screws. Also for anyone picking this up, I saw people talk about streetpass functionality getting gimped. To avoid any issues, plug in the AC adapter while you switch out the battery. Better safe than sorry on that front, as I had the AC plugged in each time and have had no issues with streetpass or other system settings.

 

My main jump for grabbing this battery & charger (stock 3DS dock will not work with this battery, but direct AC charger to system does), was because the 2 to 3 hour mark was where my stock battery would throw in the towel. I also noticed the stock battery goes from Red warning of low battery, to a flashing Red state rather quickly. Considering I found myself almost always needing to have the AC charger hooked to my system, I figured it's bigger battery time.

 

As the review states, right around double the battery life on max settings is what you will get. In case you missed the black and blue insert for the battery & charger kit, Plug the AC Charger directly into your 3DS for the 1st charge. This will ensure you get a complete first charge of the new battery.

 

Once I had the battery for about a week and had Kat peep the difference from the stock system (extra thickness and weight), I picked her up one for her 3DS. As she was out of the house for a few days, I gave her the battery I was using, since I wanted her to have a charged battery and the new one had that rubber protectant on it, making the battery a little greasy and smelly. I was able to get rid of this smell / feel after some good wipe downs and about 12 hours of play.

 

Since my prior battery was also a Nyko, I ran into an issue where the new (swapped out) PowerPack+ would only show as 3/4 full bars. I was able to fix this by putting the original 3DS Battery back in, letting it charge to full, then putting the newest Nyko battery back in. I just did this trick today and it worked qutie well. Note you wouldn't see this, unless you went from one Nyko to another, as I did for the Wipey swap out.

 

Here are the weight measurements I did off our local devices.

• 241g - 3DS with stock battery
  
• 278g - 3DS with Nyko PowerPack+ installed
  
• 219g - DS Lite

 

When holding a stock 3DS and one with the PP+, you'll notice the extra weight but I didn't find it to be a detriment, especially considering the gain in play time. As the review link shows and you'd expect, there is some extra thickness with the battery installed. I actually prefer the battery grip and it has grooves on the back for your fingers. The PP+ feels better to me when playing, especially when pressing face buttons on the left side.

 

I was able to get each Battery + Charger kit for $20 bucks and I feel it was a good score. The Charger uses the stock 3DS / DSi charge cable and has it's own power button. When it's on, you'll see the Blue power button illuminated and the side lights will be Red. When finished, they will change to Green. The base has 3 extending prongs that make contact with the rear of the battery when you place the system in there. You can still use the original charging cable while playing the system, and can charge that way too. The dock is an optional method, as is the case with the Nintendo included one, when using the stock battery.

 

I think that about covers my info on this replacement battery. As I mentioned, it is a solid score and the extra battery life is very beneficial.