Features & Specifications
The T-X3 Charge Hub is a device that allows charging of two SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 controllers and can charge the controllers when the console is off. The USB hub offers three additional USB 2.0 ports that work with any PS3 controller or accessory. The charger draws power from the console AC cable, not the USB port.

In Use
Anyone who uses a PS3 frequently knows that the controllers go dead often and it's always at the worst possible time. Normally that may not be an issue, you just get closer to the console and connect the USB charge cable and keep playing. When all of the USB ports are in use, like when playing Rock Band with a lead guitar, bass, mic, and drums are connected you don’t have that option. The singer needs the controller to be able to choose a difficulty and start the game.

Without a controller, your vocalist is out. This has happened to me several times when a controller goes dead. Thankfully, the T-X3 Charge Hub not only charges the controllers even if the console is off, but it offers three more USB ports. In actuality that amounts to two more USB ports because the hub has to be plugged into one of the four available ports on the front of the PS3 to work. The controllers will charge without the USB connection though.

The charging portion of the T-X3 Charge Hub has a pass through adapter that the standard PS3 AC cable from the wall connects to. The T-X3 Charge Hub adapter then plugs into the console and you can play and charge at once.

The controllers are easy to plug into the charge area and the three USB ports offered are on the rear of the T-X3 Charge Hub. That makes the ports a bit hard to get to when needed. Thrustmaster's T-X3 Charge Hub is not that bulky, but if you have your PS3 inside of an enclosed entertainment center, it can make for a tight fit.

I wish Thrustmaster had added about four more feet to the length of the cable that runs from the rear power adapter of the machine to the input on the hub itself and the USB cable. That would also allow most users to set the T-X3 Charge Hub on top of an entertainment center or an unused shelf. As it is, the cables were too short for me to do anything but cram the T-X3 Charge Hub into my entertainment center. The T-X3 Charge Hub is a great device that is a perfect way for large Rock Band gatherings to stay connected and rocking.