Customer Reviews

Xbox Orbiter Wireless Controller

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 4 star rating is greatly influenced by the cheap price of this controller. If it was more expensive, I'd mark it lower.

I bought this controller for about 15 bucks, including shipping, despite the fact there were no reviews. I figured I'd put in a little info in case someone is considering it.

It takes 4 AAA batteries. I wish they'd have used 4 AA's for longer battery life.

The receiver is very similar to the XBox DVD remote dongle. It plugs into the front, just like that one and fits up close to the Xbox. There's an "X" molded into the plastic of the receiver. When connected, the light on the reciever is solid red. If if the controller is turned off or the batteries are weak, it blinks.

This controller has no way to use memory cards.

It's just barely smaller than the original XBox controller. I really couldn't tell until I held it up to the original to compare. It's quite a bit lighter. The batteries give it a little extra weight. The XYAB buttons are semi-transluscent and very easy to see. It has some silvery "chrome" around the buttons and the left thumbpad. The overall look is nice. I wonder if that silver chrome stuff will rub off over time?

The start and back buttons are in the wrong spot compared to the original controller. Instead, there are extra "turbo" and "power/connect" buttons in those spots. They messed this up and should've swapped these 4 buttons to make more sense. They even made the size of "turbo" and "power/connect" match the size of "start" and "back" on the original controller even though these buttons now have different functions. I find this really strange and a defect in design, but I'll get used to it.

There's a slider switch at the bottom to turn it off and on. I don't know if it has a sleep mode or not. The sparse manual doesn't mention it. When it's on, there's a red LED right on top. This is a good reminder to turn it off when putting it away.

The manual also doesn't mention if 2 (or more) of these will work together. There's no switch to change channel. But it does have a button on the receiver and a the power/connect button on the controller itself to synch controller to dongle. So maybe more than 1 will work together.

I have no idea why the button is labeled "power." The manual doesn't say why either.

The plastic itself is extremely cheap with *lots* of scratches and defects. It's a good thing it's black because the color hides some of it. But it's a $10 controller. What do you expect? It's not a $40 Logitech.

There are rubber grippers on the left and right sides to keep it from sliding out of your hands. I'm not sure they're big enough to make a difference. But I haven't dropped it yet, so maybe so. Then again, I don't remember dropping the original wired controller either.

Overall, it works just fine with no lag that I can detect. I'm going to order one more as a spare. It's cheap enough that I don't care if it gets cheetos all over it.

I think Shawn pretty well covers it. It is cheap in both price and construction but gets the job done. No significant complaints.

Took a little too long to get the item and two buttons have already broken.

it is a great wireless gaming controller with all the features one could want on their controller. price is a little high but worth it once you start using it!

I have had this for a few months now and it is great. I have changed the batteries twice so far. The sleep function is very handy, it probably has saved me a ton on batteries. It works as well or better than the standard wired controller.

My son really likes this wireless controller. He thinks it's great to move around the room and not get tangled up or unplugging it form the console. He's said he could play on the other side of the wall if he could see the TV. I can't say how long the batteries work because he use rechargeables.

The one thing that may throw you off about this controller if you are used to the origional xbox controllers is that the start and select buttons are inbetween the 2 control sticks. Where the start and select button used to be (to the left of the left stick) is a turbo and a power/connect button. It will take some getting used to, but the button reconfiguration won't throw you offf for long.

I bought this controller 4 1/2 months ago and it broke recently. So be aware that buying this controller might be a short term fix. The left control stick no longer functions correctly and the triggers never felt strong even after optimal treatment. I never dropped this controller, never tossed it onto a couch or anything that could be construed as abuse to a controller.

But the sad fact is that since the origional Xbox has been replaced by the Xbox 360, good controllers for this old system simply aren't made anymore. The only way to buy origional Xbox controllers is used or knock-offs like these.

I bought the wired version of this controller made by the same company before the wireless one broke and it feels sturdier; I would reccommend buying that one. But seeing as how it hasn't gotten as much use, it may also be poorly made as well. But my initial impression is that it's made better.