The Wand series also adds additional functionality through the use of a proprietary extension of the standard Wii Remote expansion port.

[3] The Wand expansion port also includes additional pins dubbed "Trans-Port Technology" by their creator, which allow Wand-specific accessories to digitally activate the controller's buttons and receive haptic feedback information, features not available on the Wii Remote.

[5] Coverage of the device's unveiling noted that the Wand was the first third-party Wii Remote alternative to be developed,[4][6] and the controller was released to retail on May 21, 2009.

[13] The Pistol Grip is a gun shell for Wands, similar in design to Nyko's (mechanical) Perfect Shot, with digital inputs using Trans-Port.

[20] CNET, while speaking positively about the motion controls, internal speaker and buttons, felt the redesigned D-pad was "clunky and cumbersome", and were disappointed by the lack of Trans-Port accessories at launch, giving it 3/5.

Reporting on the device's unveiling at CES, Destructoid called it a "twisted brainwrong" which "looks a bit like it was designed by half-crazed, starving Oompa Loompas on the back of a thirty day coke binge.

Engadget felt that including MotionPlus support in a stock-sized controller was "as it should have been in the first place", preferring it over the dongle solution, ending by "shockingly [having] to conclude it is equal to or superior to the stock Wiimote.