Nyko Charger Grip

Openly swearing in public is never a sensible practice at the best of times. What's worse is if such expletives tumble from your mouth not because you've cracked a knee against a lamp post, twisted an ankle down a curb, or walked aimlessly into a closed glass-pane door, but because the standard-issue battery in your PSP has run out at an inopportune moment when you're literally miles from an accessible power plug.

Well, gaming peripheral and accessory expert Nyko is here to help you cut back on turning the air seven shades of blue, courtesy of its PSP Charger Grip, which, as well as being able to prolong PSP battery life by around five hours, is also a handy clip-on outer casing extension that essentially turns the PSP into a wider version of an existing PlayStation game controller.

Power-hungry PSP owners not overly enamoured with the often thumb-cramping agony associated with the handheld's left-side analog nubbin and the PSP's generally off-ish handling may just find Nyko's compact battery and grip add-on to be the perfect solution.

From an aesthetic point of view, the Charger Grip is a lightweight black plastic moulding that looks and feels a little cheap in terms of build quality, particularly with respect to how it extends to house the PSP, and also how it secures the console in place. However, that shouldn't (and, in truth, doesn't) detract from the unit's overall worth in providing extra game time and extra play comfort.

When in its compact retracted state, the unit is a tad smaller than a standard PlayStation 2 controller, which makes it fairly easy to travel with. In order to attach the PSP, the Charger Grip slides open on a central runner bed, thus widening the entire unit, while four statically placed plastic hooking arms press firmly and securely onto the PSP once it's slid easily into place.

Unfortunately, despite the Charger Grip's useful retractable nature, the permanently static arms prevent the device from being truly user friendly because they cannot be folded away into the unit, which is a shame.

The Charger Grip is fitted with a 5V power jack, which plugs directly into the PSP to transfer the unit's extra charge, as well as a standard 5V DC-IN socket for the PSP's power adapter. Once the charger is holding the PSP and has been plugged into the mains, an on-board LED shows that the unit is charging, as does the LED on the PSP. When the charge light turns off (after around 6-7 hours when coupled with the PSP), the Charger Grip and the PSP are both ready for use.

Nyko claims its Charger Grip's built-in lithium-ion battery can provide approximately five hours of extra play time on top of the 3-4 hours generally on offer from the standard-issue Sony battery. And its claim certainly rings true, with the Charger Grip performing extremely well in our tests, contributing to a little under 9 hours of total supply when combined with the PSP's internal power source.

Beyond the attraction of a sizable chunk of enhanced game time, the Charger Grip's most notable asset is that level of extra comfort it delivers to the user. Granted, its fixed vertical supports may be somewhat of a hindrance but, once the PSP is secure, the Grip's ergonomic game controller design all but eliminates any instances of cramping joints or difficult positioning where analog stick gameplay enjoyment is concerned – a huge plus point when facing a long journey and looking forward to the promised nine hours of combined battery life.

In conclusion, while it may look and feel somewhat on the 'economy' side when compared to Nyko's other PSP offerings, the Charger Grip easily transcends any aesthetic disappointment thanks to the extra 4-5 hours of battery life, an extremely lightweight and solid PSP housing, and the invaluable physical gameplay improvements. Ultimately, at a mere $21.95 (from Amazon.com only) the Nyko Charger Grip is nothing short of a little miracle, and every self-respecting PSP owner would be wise to invest.