Review cover Venom Nintendo Switch Charge & Store (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review

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Venom has sent us their 'Charge & Store' for the Switch. It can power all of your Switch controllers, but is it really more convenient than using a wire?

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First impressions

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Packaged together in the box is the unit itself, along with a small adaptor attachment for your Pro-Controller. The stand is powered by a decent length USB cable that you can plug into your dock, or any other USB port. Rather than using a standard MicroUSB or USB-C to connect, it uses a wire built directly into the base, which makes it feel a lot more sturdy than the MicroUSB standard I'm used to with many products. Plugging it in allows you to charge a pair of Joy-Con controllers, a Pro Controller and one Pokéball Plus.

Use

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I don't own a Pokéball Plus, but the charging on the Joy-Cons and the Pro-Controller works just fine. Joy-Cons slide into the side of the unit, and whilst they don't click in, they still feel safe in the charger. The Pro-Controller requires you to plug in an attachment to the USB-C port, so that it can sit in the stand and make contact with three metal pins. It's not too much of a hindrance, but it unfortunately covers the sync button, making both re-syncing and turning the controller off fairly tedious. This isn't really a problem for your battery life, since you can just place it back onto the stand, but since I swap between using my controller on my Switch and on my PC, it gets tedious.

Placing each controller into the stand lights up a different LED light on the front. The Joy-Cons light up two small LEDs, while the Pro-Controller lights up the central Venom logo. When charging, the lights are red, but when they're fully charged, they'll turn green, which is a useful touch. Unfortunately, light from the Joy-Con LEDs bleeds into the central logo, making it look tacky. I'm also displeased with the Venom branding on the front. I praised the subtle branding of Venom's own Switch carrying case, so this is a disappointing step back. Surely just the Venom logo as an LED would have sufficed?

The final feature that the stand offers is storage for your Switch game cases. I find this a complete waste of space, myself. Placing your cases in the slots makes the product a lot taller, which could easily be a problem if you have it in front of a TV. The cases also look messy in the stand, despite looking nice and tidy in the promotional images. It would have been ideal if this useless feature was detachable.

Final Thoughts

The Venom Switch Charge & Store is a waste of time and money. I can just as easily charge my Joy-Con controllers in the Switch dock, and the Pro-Controller's battery lasts long enough that plugging it in just isn't an issue. For £15, I don't think it's worth it. There are so many Switch accessories available, but I'd give this one a miss.

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Charges a ton of controllers at the same time
  • Plugs directly into the dock with a decent length cable
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Requires you to plug a small adaptor into the Pro Controller
  • Not much easier than just a cable
  • The cases look wonky
6.5
out of 10

Overall

This is an uninteresting and bland product that I don't think I could recommend to anybody. The Switch comes with methods of charging all of these devices, so I just don't think it's worth the £15 it's sold for.
One of the best reviews I have watched in a while. Because it is honest :) Now I know which place to visit for my reviews ;)
 
If it wasn't for the game holders, and the Pro Controller dongle, I might actually buy this. I do want a dock for my JoyCons. I have the charge grip, but I rarely use my second pair so they're always discharged when I want to use them.
 
If it wasn't for the game holders, and the Pro Controller dongle, I might actually buy this. I do want a dock for my JoyCons. I have the charge grip, but I rarely use my second pair so they're always discharged when I want to use them.
PowerA released an excellent joycon charger with slots for four joycons in total and independent charge state indicators. It's quite cheap and seems to match your requirements. It's also officially licensed by Nintendo themselves, as is most of the PowerA accessory line.

https://www.powera.com/products/joy-con-charging-dock-nintendo-switch/
 
PowerA released an excellent joycon charger with slots for four joycons in total and independent charge state indicators. It's quite cheap and seems to match your requirements. It's also officially licensed by Nintendo themselves, as is most of the PowerA accessory line.

https://www.powera.com/products/joy-con-charging-dock-nintendo-switch/
Yup I've seen a few different versions of those. There's a Chinese one where the rails light up to indicate charge status which is neat. I just thought it would be nice to have one that can also charge my Pro Controller. But I really don't see the need for that dongle, just design a slot for the Pro Controller with a USB-C connector on it, similar to how the Switch dock works.
 
Yup I've seen a few different versions of those. There's a Chinese one where the rails light up to indicate charge status which is neat. I just thought it would be nice to have one that can also charge my Pro Controller. But I really don't see the need for that dongle, just design a slot for the Pro Controller with a USB-C connector on it, similar to how the Switch dock works.
They make that flavour as well. The dongles are usually added to provide a zero insertion force contact area, putting stuff in and out of the port repeatedly can damage it very easily and isn't recommended if it can be avoided. A lot of devices come with such contacts built-in, like the 3DS, for instance. I'm not sure why it's not an industry standard for controllers - it definitely should be.

https://www.powera.com/products/nintendo-switch-joy-con-pro-controller-charging-dock/
 
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They make that flavour as well. The dongles are usually added to provide a zero insertion force contact area, putting stuff in and out of the port repeatedly can damage it very easily and isn't recommended if it can be avoided. A lot of devices come with such contacts built-in, like the 3DS, for instance. I'm not sure why it's not an industry standard for controllers - it definitely should be.

https://www.amazon.com/PowerA-Joy-P...461c7e76c964f722658400d0ace13f&language=en_US
I agree with that. However, if it's good enough for the Switch dock, then it's good enough for the Pro Controller. The thing hardly ever needs to be charged after all.

Edit: That looks nice but it seems to be using the same dongle crap :/
 
I agree with that. However, if it's good enough for the Switch dock, then it's good enough for the Pro Controller. The thing hardly ever needs to be charged after all.

Edit: That looks nice but it seems to be using the same dongle crap :/
Are you implying that Nintendo designs good consumer electronics that don't need a bunch of add-ons? :lol:
 
They make that flavour as well. The dongles are usually added to provide a zero insertion force contact area, putting stuff in and out of the port repeatedly can damage it very easily and isn't recommended if it can be avoided. A lot of devices come with such contacts built-in, like the 3DS, for instance. I'm not sure why it's not an industry standard for controllers - it definitely should be.

https://www.amazon.com/PowerA-Joy-P...461c7e76c964f722658400d0ace13f&language=en_US


Woah hey, that looks way better than this thing. Waaay subtler branding, and more compact too.
 
Woah hey, that looks way better than this thing. Waaay subtler branding, and more compact too.
The Switch has a ridiculous amount of accessories made for it, much like most other Nintendo home consoles. There's docks-a-plenty, these are just three out of many. I personally don't own any, the Switch is pretty well-equipped out of the box, but I can see how owners of multiple joycon pairs could need a separate dock for guest controllers.
 
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