Charging Station
Charging/Docking Station
Calling the charging unit a docking station would be a misnomer, since the Aivia Uranium doesn’t actually dock with it. It features a monochrome OLED display and a rolled-up charging cable for the mouse. There are two buttons on the top of the station to change display brightness.
The display’s resolution is rather low, but it’s good enough for text. It'll keep you informed about the currently-active profile, the sensor's current resolution, the polling rate, and remaining charge in the batteries. You get a warning when the mouse needs to be recharged with a power plug symbol, as you can see in the image below.
According to the label on the bottom of the charging station, power draw is 200 mA. That's a bit misleading though, since it only accounts for the display. Actually charging the mouse draws significantly more power, which is why it makes sense that the charging station’s cable features a Y-split to accommodate a second USB connector.
Rechargeable Batteries and Charging
The Aivia Uranium’s design has a big advantage in that any standard rechargeable battery can be used. Even normal (non-rechargeable) batteries work, even though you have to remember never to try charging them. The two included generic rechargeable batteries are decent, but they should be charged completely before using them with an external charger, not a rapid charger.
Running the rechargeable batteries all the way down on a regular basis should be avoided. You can discharge Gigabyte's bundled nickel–metal hydride batteries once a month to fight the memory effect. Another unique feature of this particular type of rechargeable battery is the optimization for a constant power supply over long periods of time. Unfortunately, they also lose a lot of their capacity after about 400 charge cycles, whereas lithium-ion rechargeable batteries last 20 to 30 percent longer.
Connecting the mouse to its charging station is as easy as it gets, especially since the cable adjusts itself due to a spring-loaded mechanism in the station.
The charging cable is 50 cm-long, and very thin and flexible. In a pinch, you can use the Aivia Uranium hardwired. It's both well thought-out and practical. But bear in mind that the USB connection only charges the mouse; it isn't used for data transmission.
The charging process is generally fast thanks to rapid charging technology, but it’s also very dependent on the rechargeable batteries you use. Gigabyte's Aivia Uranium doesn’t draw much power, which is to say that it runs more than a day on one charge without turning it off. This is a big advantage compared to most mice that use smaller proprietary batteries. If you want to make sure that the batteries don't run out of power, you can always buy your own higher-capacity lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which also don’t need any maintenance.
