A:Answer Yes, it needs to be charged first. When I first took it out of the box and read the instructions I discovered that it was not PREcharged sitting in it's box in Best Buy store, of course. I followed the directions. I can be charged directly from an outlet, or can also be charged from my notebook computer while my notebook computer is plugged in to an outlet so it does not deplete my computer's charge, of course. The instructions said it would take 6 hours to fully charge, and I found by charging it that that was a correct assesment of the time needed.