Controller accessories
* Rechargeable battery pack: This nickel metal hydride battery pack provides up to 25 hours of continuous gaming for the wireless controller. It is recommended in place of disposable AA batteries (which differ slightly in voltage). It also ships as part of the Play & Charge Kit and as part of the Quick Charge Kit. Third party rechargeable battery pack kits are also available.
* NiMH Rechargeable AAs: Simple rechargeable NiMH AA batteries are the exact same voltage as the battery pack available from Microsoft. In fact, all that is in the battery pack are two 1800mAh AA cells giving up to 1800 mAh at 2.4v.[citation needed] On the other hand, two 2500mAh rechargeable AAs in the standard battery holder will give up to 2500mAh @ 2.4v, lasting approximately 50% longer.[citation needed] A charger with 4 x 2500mAh AAs can be purchased for $20, which gives the ability to power two controllers, or one controller while another set is always charged, for the same price as a Microsoft “Play and Charge” kit.
* Play and Charge Kit: Allows the controller to be recharged while playing a game by plugging the wireless controller into one of the USB ports. The kit also includes the rechargeable battery pack. It should also be noted that the Play and Charge kit allows use of a wireless controller with the battery pack removed (however this will damage the pad as the circuit is incomplete[citation needed] ). Microsoft currently does not support it to be used as a wired controller, however it does transmit data letting the host know that it is a wireless controller via a Play and Charge kit.[6]; wireless is still used for data communication and the Play and Charge kit therefore needs not to be plugged into the console itself to function, any USB port may be used for the players’ convenience.
* Quick Charge Kit: Charges up to two rechargeable battery packs and does so in less time than the Play and Charge Kit. Comes with one new battery pack.