The first thing that I found disappointing about the
Charge Block Solo is that you're limited to connecting just
two units if you're using the included AC adapter. The controllers can be charged using a cable and the console, without the need for a separate charger. The charger becomes useful in that it allows you to charge your controller away from the console and with the console turned off. I would expect that most people's usage would be with the AC adapter, which limits you to two units chained together. If you have a computer nearby, you could make use of a USB 3.0 port to chain up to four
Charge Block Solo units, but not all USB ports are USB 3.0; you'd have to make sure you were using the correct one and, even then, there are additional warnings not to charge a completely dead controller until the other three have reached at least 10%. This would be difficult to gauge, since neither the controllers nor the
Charge Block Solo have anything that indicates the power level on the controllers. You would have to have your console turned on and power on the controllers to check. I would suggest only considering the possibility of connecting two units together, but that seems quite limiting. On the upside, if you have an end table on either side of your couch, you could use two units connected to each other on one side and another two on the other, each pair plugged into an AC adapter.
The second complaint I have is an inexcusable flaw, in my opinion. This is a product for using with your PS4. The PS4 is capable of beautiful graphics and televisions often have issue with glare if there are bright lights in the room. The Charge Block Solo has tall, bright white LED lights that flash frenetically while a controller is charging and stay on once the controller is fully charged. You'll have to be careful where you place them, or the rapid flashing could cause glare on your screen and can be quite annoying. The brightness is over-the-top and unnecessary, but the rapid flash rate is simply bewildering. They should have taken a cue from the PS4 controller; when it's charging, the large LED panel slowly goes from black to a medium brightness yellow and then fades back to black in an animated lighting effect that is usually referred to as a "breathing" effect or a slow pulse. The Charge Block Solo flashes about 10 times in the time it takes the PS4 controller to complete a single "breathing" cycle. Actually, since this version of the Charge Block Solo is specifically designed for use with PS4 controllers, which already have this lighting effect to indicate that they are charging or are fully charged, the LED lights could have been done away with altogether. In an attempt to "solve" the issue on my test unit, I took a black Sharpie and darkened the LED bars. The result was that they were merely slightly dimmer. I may try masking off around them and painting them black, which I expect would still leave a slim bit of light coming from around the edges of the LED bars, which would be enough indication since, as I mentioned, with the PS4 controller this lighting effect is redundant; I could tell the charging status by looking at the LED bar on the controller.
I love the ideas behind the Charge Block Solo, but I wish it had been implemented a bit better, at least with regards to the bright, frenetic LED bar. If there had just been a button to turn that off, it would have been better. As it is, keep this in mind when contemplating your charging options, especially if your gaming center is more on the "media room" side.
