What's so special about a charge cradle??

This might be a really stupid question but I have no idea what is so special about a charge cradle. Everywhere I read they say that the 3DS comes with a charge cradle because the battery life sucks on it. That's all good and well but how does it help the battery life. I have never owned anything that used a charge cradle so I just wanted to know. What's so special about a charge cradle?

I'm not clear on how it helps the charging, but it makes downloading faster supposedly.

Really?? I'm still confused. Everywhere I go I see that this thing will help. I mean can you like charge the thing and take the cradle places with you??? If it was like that I would love it but if it just sits there I don't see how its better than a normal charger.

It's meant to be a quick way of charging without having to turn off the 3DS, meaning you can still use the 3DS while it sits on the cradle. The cradle uses a form of conductive charging that uses a electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects (in this case, the 3DS and cradle). Unfortunately i don't think the cradle uses wireless charging (3DS needs to sitting on the cradle), which seems odd considering that the 3DS is a portable handheld. what would be the point of this form of charging if it is not wireless.

Thank you. You shed some light on how it works and why it would I guess be a little more convenient. I still hope that it will be wireless but if not, I'm sure a 3rd party company will make a wireless one.

when i meant non wireless i meant that the 3DS needs to be making contact on the surface of the cradle. wireless charging using a cradle is possible(inductive charging) that can extends the magnetic field so that object doesn't need to be making contact (but it is not commercially available). You could be 10 feet away from the charger and it will still charge the device. This is what Nintendo needs.

That sounds amazing. I don't think Nintendo would bundle something thatsophisticatedwith the 3DS but that would be freaking awesome.

when i meant non wireless i meant that the 3DS needs to be making contact on the surface of the cradle. wireless charging using a cradle (inductive charging) extends the magnetic field so that object doesn't need to be making contact, meaning you could be 10 feet away from the charger and it will still charge the device. This is what Nintendo needs.

Crystal-Rush

That sounds amazing. I don't think Nintendo would bundle something thatsophisticatedwith the 3DS but that would be freaking awesome.

Alx1231

[QUOTE="Crystal-Rush"]

when i meant non wireless i meant that the 3DS needs to be making contact on the surface of the cradle. wireless charging using a cradle (inductive charging) extends the magnetic field so that object doesn't need to be making contact, meaning you could be 10 feet away from the charger and it will still charge the device. This is what Nintendo needs.

OreoMilkshake

[QUOTE="OreoMilkshake"][QUOTE="Crystal-Rush"]

when i meant non wireless i meant that the 3DS needs to be making contact on the surface of the cradle. wireless charging using a cradle (inductive charging) extends the magnetic field so that object doesn't need to be making contact, meaning you could be 10 feet away from the charger and it will still charge the device. This is what Nintendo needs.

Crystal-Rush

[QUOTE="Crystal-Rush"][QUOTE="OreoMilkshake"]I've never heard of such things. Can you link a video of this in action?OreoMilkshake

its like you dont need an outlet so you can charge this and it works so that you can hold the cradle like a normal ds so thats a big step forward which may attest to the enourmous fee

I remember seeing that the 3DS will come with the cradle and a normal charger. I really hope so because if I play with the charger pluged in I don't want a bulky thing below the console.

I think all the charging cradle does is well... charge the 3DS. I imagine you just take the AC Charger, plug it into the cradle and now you just have to sit the 3DS in the cradle to charge instead of plugging it in.

I think all the charging cradle does is well... charge the 3DS. I imagine you just take the AC Charger, plug it into the cradle and now you just have to sit the 3DS in the cradle to charge instead of plugging it in.

ButteredToast89

I would love if the cradle holds a backup charge for the 3DS. But I doubt that's what it is.OreoMilkshake

...the battery life sucks on it.Alx1231

The battery life only "sucks" if you're running it at its brightest setting, just like every DS since model since the DS Lite.

whats so special about the things is that it apparently takes 3.5 hours for it to charge a battery :roll:

[QUOTE="Crystal-Rush"][QUOTE="OreoMilkshake"]I've never heard of such things. Can you link a video of this in action?OreoMilkshake

Energizer sells a similar charge system for the Wii Remote. Just lay the Wii Remote on the charge pad and it'll recharge the battery. So I think the only thing the charge cradle offers is convenience.dzimm

I really hope it comes with a wire also. If I'm in the middle of something important (as in, nowhere close to a save point), you can't really play the game very well from the charging cradle, depending on the type of game it is. I generally charge the system as needed, not every time I set it down, so I guess I'll have to change my habit to charging it whenever I'm not playing it.

It allows Nintendo to sell the 3DS with a device that technically charges it, but if you want to play your 3DS while it charges you'll have to spend extra buying a regular cable/plug.DJ_Lae

I'm pretty it sure it comes with the cradle and power supply. My guess is that the power supply can plug into the cradle or into the 3DS for direct charging.

[QUOTE="DJ_Lae"]It allows Nintendo to sell the 3DS with a device that technically charges it, but if you want to play your 3DS while it charges you'll have to spend extra buying a regular cable/plug.dzimm

I'm pretty it sure it comes with the cradle and power supply. My guess is that the power supply can plug into the cradle or into the 3DS for direct charging.

it helps downloads download faster not like they are slow ne way but ya

This might be a really stupid question but I have no idea what is so special about a charge cradle. Everywhere I read they say that the 3DS comes with a charge cradle because the battery life sucks on it. That's all good and well but how does it help the battery life. I have never owned anything that used a charge cradle so I just wanted to know. What's so special about a charge cradle?

Alx1231

[QUOTE="Alx1231"]

This might be a really stupid question but I have no idea what is so special about a charge cradle. Everywhere I read they say that the 3DS comes with a charge cradle because the battery life sucks on it. That's all good and well but how does it help the battery life. I have never owned anything that used a charge cradle so I just wanted to know. What's so special about a charge cradle?

soulreaper-4

I don't think this charging cradle is anything to get worked up over. It doesn't do anything that the AC wall plug doesn't already do. The charging cradle doesn't hold a charge, it needs to be plugged into the wall to transfer power to the 3DS.

Iwata talks about the charging cradle in this Jojstiq article

"As for the battery," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during an investor Q&A, "it is inevitable that Nintendo 3DS will be a device which requires more frequent recharging than Nintendo DS. This is why we are going to include the cradle, which is a dedicated battery charger. Perhaps we may need to dispatch to our consumers a message, something like, 'Please place your Nintendo 3DS on the cradle as soon as you return home with it.'"

I think it's just a more convienient way of charging the 3DS without having to physically plug in the 3DS, you simply just place it into the cradle. I deffinately don't see how it is supposed to make downloads faster, that will be determined by the type of internet you have and the wifi signal quality.

Edit: Here is a picture showing the back of the charging cradle where the AC wall plug will plug into

[QUOTE="ButteredToast89"]"Perhaps we may need to dispatch to our consumers a message, something like, 'Please place your Nintendo 3DS on the cradle as soon as you return home with it.'"/QUOTE]

Interesting. So Nintendo is basically operating with the assumption that we'll be charging the 3DS whenever we're not using it.

[QUOTE="ButteredToast89"]"Perhaps we may need to dispatch to our consumers a message, something like, 'Please place your Nintendo 3DS on the cradle as soon as you return home with it.'"dzimm

Interesting. So Nintendo is basically operating with the assumption that we'll be charging the 3DS whenever we're not using it.

I wonder if that won't make the battery lifespan shorter. Since in many electronic manuals it is recommended to deplete the battery completely before charging it again.

I wonder if that won't make the battery lifespan shorter. Since in many electronic manuals it is recommended to deplete the battery completely before charging it again.

DealRogers

[QUOTE="DealRogers"]

I wonder if that won't make the battery lifespan shorter. Since in many electronic manuals it is recommended to deplete the battery completely before charging it again.

BrunoBRS