Sony Portable Charger for PS Vita Review

This product was reviewed on the PlayStation Vita

A couple of months ago, we reviewed Nyko’s Power Grip for the PlayStation Vita, and while we found that it was an excellent piece of hardware to increase the longevity of the device on-the-go, a few of our readers weren’t exactly crazy about the thought of having a couple of handles hanging off of the side of their handheld. For others who may feel the same way, there is another possibility for you to consider: Sony’s own Portable Charger for the PlayStation Vita.

The Portable Charger for the PlayStation Vita is essentially a lithium-ion battery pack with a power button on the side and not much more than that. It’s built more for functionality than anything else; however, it does get the job done. The matte black color scheme falls in line with the rest of the PlayStation-branded products for the Vita, while the square design ensures that the charger can be kept safely in a pocket, purse, or backpack without taking up too much space. To use the device, all you need to do is plug your PlayStation Vita charging cable into the Vita, while plugging the USB side of the cable into the Portable Charger. Once the devices are plugged into each other, you then depress the power button on the side of the Portable Charger to begin supplying the handheld with external juice.

The unit is charged using the same charging cable that the PlayStation Vita uses, but oddly enough it does not include a charging cable itself, so if you need to charge both devices, you’ll have to pick up an extra cable from your local retailer if you haven’t already, or charge the devices separately. From a total drain, using the Vita wall charger you can acquire a full charge in approximately two hours, putting it on par with the Nyko Power Grip.

The device specs tout an additional “4-7 hours extra gaming” time. For our purposes, we tested this in the same manner as the Nyko Power Grip, by playing Metal Gear Solid HD Collection continuously until the system was completely drained. With the PlayStation Vita fully charged and plugged into the Portable Charger, the total rundown of the two units was approximately 11 hours in total of continuous gameplay, also similar to that of the Nyko’s solution.

For those of you who are looking for a solution to keep on playing well outside of the four to six hours of battery that the Vita runs on, the Portable Charger for the PlayStation Vita is most certainly a viable one. It’s simple design makes it easy to pack, however, the downside is that you can’t mount it to the Vita which means that you’ll either have a cable running from your Vita to your bag, pocket, or to a brick in your lap, which does look a bit funky. Moreover, the lack of including an additional power cable for the Portable Charger is a bit of a head scratcher, considering you’re being asked to shell out a good $40 for the device, $10 more than the Nyko solution. Of course, with the PS-endorsed device, you’ll at least not have to worry about voiding the warranty if it blows up your handheld.

The Portable Charger for the PlayStation Vita receives a 4.5/5.0.