This play and charge kit was supposed to replace batteries for good in my controller, and it hasnt done that. I have had numerous problems from the moment i bought it. The fact that the battery pack only lasts a couple months, the cable is weak and flimsy, and you dont get a long warranty.

When in use the controller keeps cutting out at the most inconvenient times and i now play without the battery pack (its now in the bin) because a 2 hour charge gives roughly 10 minutes of play. It wasnt like this at the start, but over time the battery pack wore out and died. To begin with it has about 4 hours of play before it cuts out completely. You will get a rotational LED warning on your controller when this happens and you can view the packs battery status on the guide button in the top left corner. Terrible charge and economy of power usage.

I paid £10 for mine and i can see already Microsoft are making serious profits on this. It just doesn't meet the standard I expect from a gaming product. Ease of use is where it scores some marks back, you get a multi language manual and a simple plug and play set up, it works straight out the box and your console will instantly start working with it.

The mechanical problems started after just a few weeks when the LED at the top started to break down and cut out when charging, so i had no idea if it was charged up, or even on charge for that matter. The next problem occoured when there was a break in the wire, this was through just basic general use and happened after about 2 months.

This is an expensive replacement for batteries, and it wont even replace them, you might as well buy a wired controller, its cheaper, better quality and no messing around with batteries all the time. I still need batteries to stop the cutting out during gameplay, so heres the option: get batteries, or part with another £10 and get another kit, rewarding microsoft with more money for their rubbish product. I will buy an unofficial one next time or atick with batteries. They last just as long as the kit i suppose.