Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My review is for the Panasonic K-KJ17MCA4BA Advanced Individual Battery Charger + 4 AA Batteries. I purchased this product as a better alternative to the Sony CycleEnergy charger I purchased last Christmas at a B&M store in Germany for €29.99 (about $37 USD). The biggest disadvantage I had with the Sony CycleEnergy charger is that it required me to always charge batteries in pairs, which ended up becoming problematic after noticing that the batteries don't always charge equally. I would charge the batteries until the LED light would notify me that they are ready to use, yet after inserting them into my high-power devices the batteries would already read one to two bars lower instead of indicating all the bars for a full charge. At the time I also only owned two rechargable AAA batteries, one which was used for my wireless laptop mouse and the other for a Bluetooth stereo remote. This also turned out to be a problem since the wireless mouse would drain the battery very quickly whereas the battery in the remote would barely lose its charge, which in turn would force me to charge a near dead battery with an almost full battery. It was at this point that I started looking into a better alternative for charging my rechargable batteries, and after a bit of research I came across the Panasonic BQ-CC17 "Advanced Individual Battery Charger". The reason I chose to go with this specific brand and charger was because it has excellent ratings, the great price, and most importantly allowed for individual cell charging. I cannot express how pleased I am with this product, and I highly recommend this product without any hesitation to anyone in need of an excellent battery charger! The convenience factor alone of not having to charge batteries in pairs makes this product a well worth investment in my opinion. I am also shocked at how affordable this battery charger is compared to the Sony CycleEnergy I purchased, as I only paid ~$20 which included 4 AA batteries that sell for ~$14 if bought without the charger. I practically could have purchased two of these Panasonic chargers for the price that I paid for a single Sony CycleEnergy charger! As far as my experience with the battery indicators on my high power devices, they finally indicate a full charge when inserting the batteries into the device! Which tells me the reason as to why it showed one to two bars less on my previous charger is because the charger was set on a timer and one of the two batteries must not have been getting fully charged during the process. The BQ-CC17 has also bee compatible with all my other NiMH rechargable batteries, which so far include my Sony CycleEnergy AA and AAA, Duracell AAA and AA StayCharged, and Energizer Recharge Plus AA. Another plus for folks such as myself is that this charger works outside the U.S., as the packaging indicates 100-240V 50/60Hz making it world wide compatible as long as you buy a plug converter (can be found as cheap as $1, though I would recommend paying a few extra bucks for a better quality and safer product). The only con I found with this product initially was in regards to the LED lights, not that there is any performance issue with the lights themselves, it was just impossible to even know they existed until you plug the charger in and charge a battery. When the item first arrived I was under the impression that I had received the wrong charger as I couldn't see any LED lights on the charger nor did I find any mention of them on the packaging. I had to go back to the product page on Amazon to ensure that I had purchased the right product and properly read the description to include LED indicators. It wasn't until I used the charger for the first time that I was able to spot the LED indicators, as they are hidden behind the white plastic case and near impossible to see without charging a battery. Overall I think it actually makes the charger look more aesthetically pleasing with the LED lights hidden behind the case, I just found that initially it created some confusion since some of the pictures on the product page show the little green lights which makes it seem like the lights are featured externally on the charger. Perhaps it was just me, but I figured I'd mention this just in case anyone else is a bit confused when they can't find the LED indicators as the thought of them being hidden behind the casing never even crossed my mind. Another thing I want to mention in regards to these Chargers is that it appears the only difference between the BQ-CC17 and BQ-CC17 "Pro" is the color. According to the product information from each charger, everything else appears to be exactly the same. So unless you prefer a black charger over a white one I recommend that you don't get hung up on the extra wording of "Pro" and instead purchase the BQ-CC17 charger that comes with the 4 AA batteries as that's the best bargain. My purchase was shipped by and sold from Amazon.com, which arrived in the retail packaging displayed in the picture of the product page and was fairly easy to open. The 4 AA batteries including in this pack came pre-charged and were ready to be used upon arrival. In my opinion this charger is the best in it's price class, I'll even go as far as saying better than all of the more expensive models I've bought in the past. Short Summary: -Charges batteries individually which results in proper battery charge, unlike those chargers set on timers or requires charging in pairs. -Great price, especially if you purchase the model that comes with 4 pre-charged AA batteries. -Works worldwide (100-240V 50/60Hz) with additional purchase of plug adapter/converter -LED lights are hidden underneath white casing, will only turn on when battery is being charged In conclusion, this is the best rechargable battery charger I have ever used, I cannot recommend this product enough!