One cool thing that it does when compared to the original Wii is that it has a sanctioned Wii Remote pairing option. You don't even need to press the sync button on the console anymore, just the button on the remote. This saves a lot of annoying headache. But I am sure most of you have already experienced this feature. It is not secret! Ha ha.
The Wii U itself is ridiculously energy efficient, consuming between 31W and 33W of power, less than half of that used by the PS3 or 360, according to mysterious Internet sources. The system itself doesn't actually have an official "standby" or "sleep" mode, just a power-down option, which ain't so bad considering what a light eater it is even when it's on.
The GamePad itself is another story, eating through a fully-charged battery in about three or four hours. But if you go into the GamePad's controller settings menu and tap the button to turn off the screen, the blue light on the controller actually pulses and ebbs just like a modern piece of sleep mode electronics. It's not exactly what it seems, but it's still kinda neat! The screen pops back on as soon as you push a button, but if you don't want the thing staring at you with its bright light while you're doing something else and you can't be bothered to stick the thing back on the dock, it's probably a sensible way to conserve the GamePad charge. Wonder how long it lasts with the screen off.
Speaking of the dock, there's something neat hidden in there too that maybe you already noticed but it took me a while—there are two tiny rubber wheels in the dock that help roll the GamePad into the proper charging position if you put it on there off-center. The wheels come to rest in two tiny dimples built into the bottom of the GamePad.
Other fun stuff! When you use the TV remote option, you don't have to press the keys on the touch screen to use the features. The plus and minus buttons control the volume when it's open, for example, and other buttons on the remote can change channels and do other stuff. Wow!
Check back on Monday for another bowel-loosening Wii U secret!
