What’s the big deal about a BlackBerry car charger with a retractable cord?  Well let me tell you.  One, it’s easier to carry.  Two, it’s less likely to get tangled up.  Three, it gives your boyfriend something to play with and keep himself busy while you’re driving.  (OK, that’s not necessarily a reason to get one but it most definitely a side benefit.)

The fact that it’s easier to carry around is a major benefit.  I always carry a BlackBerry car charger with me in my purse, wherever I go.  The fact that the cord is kept inside the charger makes it so much more compact, and therefore easier to fit in a bag.  And it’s not going to get tangled up with anything else that’s in there.

Speaking of not getting tangled up, it’s not just in your bag that that will be a major benefit.  It’s also in the car.  First of all, lots of you are going to keep the charger in your glove compartment, and we all know what that usually looks like.  Most people’s glove compartments are packed to the brim with loads of odds and ends, and if you keep a regular BlackBerry car charger in there, when you pull it out it can bring with it a slew of other things that you then have to sit and untangle.

Once it’s out of the glove compartment, you then have it plugged into your car’s cigarette lighter, and the curly cord is just hanging around.  It always gets tangled up with the many things that you have floating around your car.  But if your BlackBerry car charger has a retractable cord, you don’t have to have that happen, because one, the cord isn’t any longer than you need it to be, and two, it’s a straight cord, not a curly one.

And since it’s a straight cord, there’s one more thing it won’t be getting tangled up with, and that’s itself.  So that’s why having a retractable cord is such a benefit.  I would very highly recommend making the switch over from your old BlackBerry car charger to the new one with the retractable cord.  And since it’s not made by BlackBerry, it’s so inexpensive that the cost is negligible.

While any of those options could be the case, the fact of the matter is that it’s usually just an issue of branding.  The thirty dollar BlackBerry car charger is actually made by BlackBerry, while the models that are less expensive are usually made by other companies.  One exception to this rule is when someone is selling a used BlackBerry car charger on an online auction site like eBay or a local classified ad site like Craigslist.  Then you could get a car charger that’s made by BlackBerry for a very low price since it’s not new merchandise.  Another exception is when it’s an OEM product, so it’s made by BlackBerry, but sold from someone else.

If you’ve come across a listing on an online retail store for a BlackBerry car charger that is very inexpensive and you want to know who it’s made by, you can take a look in the item description that usually appears below the picture of the charger.  Most of the stores that advertise online will give full information about their products and who they are manufactured by.  If you don’t see it right away, you’ll be able to read product reviews written by customers who have bought that particular item from that retailer, and they will say if it’s an authentic BlackBerry car charger or not.

But the real question you need to ask is if you actually need to spend thirty bucks to get a BlackBerry car charger that’s made by BlackBerry, or if a model made by another company will work just fine.  If you opt for the higher priced model, are you actually paying for a better quality charger, or are you just paying for the name?

The answer is that a generic car charger for your BlackBerry will basically perform just as well as an authentic BlackBerry car charger.  You need to check to make sure that your particular BlackBerry model number is listed in the item description, so that you know that it will work.  You also should take a look to see that it’s not made by a junk company, because there are always companies out there that only produce trash.  Reading reviews will give you an idea if it’s a quality product, and make sure to look at the company’s return policy and if there’s a warranty.

One case where you might want to go for a charger that’s made by BlackBerry is if you are working on the go and you’re going to be very dependent on it.  In that case, I think it might be worth the extra money to know that you’re totally covered and not take the risk of getting a lower quality BlackBerry car charger.