Well my recharge station arrived the other day. After charging it up, I started using it with no problem. It works great.

I realized after a week of regular batteries, and not seeing the battery life meter go down one bit, that it's not at all necessary.

However it's very attractive, shiny silver, and it looks really cool when the pronto sits on it. Therefore it satisfies my electronics fetish very nicely.

It does require an electrical outlet, but the cord is very small and has a good length, so it's not an eyesore.

I've put the lithium battery through the paces with heavy use the last couple of days, and like before with the regular batteries, the battery meter has yet to go down.

According to the manual, Philips promises 800 to 1000 FULL charges (presumably partial charges means even more battery life). Assuming 2 full charges a week (which seems excessive), the battery would last at least 8 years! That would surely justify the cost versus alkaline battery replacements in the long long long run.

To sum up, it's (long-term) economical, a nice little addition to the toy collection, and aesthetically pleasing. But not necessary, you're not missing out on something really crucial or helpful. Recommended.

I've had my pronto for over a month and used it quite a lot especially as I was programming and tweaking it. I use it exclusively to control many devices and the batteries (regular) have not dropped one bit from full since I've had it.

I've had mine since January and my batteries have dropped just 25% to 60% depending on... what? cosmic rays? stock market? mood? whitehouse scandal? Who knows. Pretty good life and I use it daily. The batteries have more of a life than I. I am planning to buy the charging station at some point, but $80.00 seems a bit steep for what is really not much more than a wall wart.

Glenn

I bought a set of NiMH batteries and a charger for $21 from buycomp.... works great...

Greg,

I was wondering how much more battery life you experienced with the lithium batteries over the alkaline batteries. A pair o lithium batteries can be purchased for $5 but do they last a lot longer?

Robert I haven't had them but a few days, maybe someone else has had it longer and can chime in?

I can testify that my battery meter is still at 100% after about a week.

I bought the charging stand and Lithium battery set at the same time as my Pronto (back in late November last year) The battery question has never been an issue for me. There have been several instances of not putting the remote on the charging stand for several weeks at a time, but battery life still wasn't a problem. Honestly, I just put the remote on the stand from time to time when I think about it, otherwise it's just sitting on the couch or coffee table. And yes, it does get used a lot! Love this remote!

Another advantage just occurred to me regarding the recharge station.

Last night I realized I didn't have to worry about running the batteries down anymore, so I cranked up the light and display features to like 60 seconds.

Greg, that is the first real, quantifiable reason I've heard yet in favor of the charging station.

Even NiMH batteries have a limited life span, the more you drain them the more oftain they must charge, hence the sooner the limited amout of charges will run out needing to replace them sooner. :)

I cranked up my Pronto's light and display features to 180 seconds. The battery meter drops a few bars in about a week, but hey -- who cares? I pop the unit on the recharging stand and it's like new. My advice -- spend the $80 and enjoy the remote.

>Even NiMH batteries have a limited life span, >the more you drain them the more oftain they >must charge, hence the sooner the limited amout >of charges will run out needing to replace them >sooner. :)

Well as I said it's already gone more than a week and the meter is still at 100%. Let's say it lasts 2 weeks on the philips battery, but I believe it may well go longer than that.

At one charge every two weeks, according to philips the battery will take 800 to 1000 full charges. Assuming 800 measely charges, the battery would last... huh? 33 years?

Greg
Very good point. :)

I am also thinking about getting the recharging station (after I pay the credit card bill for the Pronto!) not just because I could crank the light and display time but because having the charging station would make a convenent place to store the pronto. I would always have a place to put it at the end of the night and it would be easy to find the next day.

Greg, are the lithium batteries you mention the ones that come with the regcharging station or alkaline replacements you can buy at most stores?