Review: Smartphone Experts Retractable Sync & Charge Cable

Every geek (and most everyone else) on the face of the planet has experienced it, the tangled mass of wires resembling spaghetti that is caused by multiple gadgets and their associated cables. Various solutions to the cable management problem exist, but most are not meant for portability and are expensive.

Retractable cables are becoming more common for scenarios where cable management and portability must coexist. The Smartphone Experts line of retractable Sync & Charge cables brings this capability to the cable (or cables) that is most central to your digital life, the sync and/or charge cable for your phone. You can find them listed on this store page and retailing for between $6.95 and $9.95 depending on your phone.

The full review follows.

Use

The device as reviewed is the Sync & Charge Cable for the Samsung Blackjack. As this is a simple cable, the use varies very little from the cables that ship with the Blackjack (the obvious difference being that this one is a retractable form factor). The cable features a standard USB plug on one end and the proprietary plug for the Blackjack on the other end. A tug on the ends expands the cable to its full length (a length between fully contracted and fully expanded is also possible to obtain); another tug and the spring loaded cable will retract.

Design

The cable has a simple yet effective design. As I mentioned, the cable is spring loaded (requiring no effort in winding it back up). The wires themselves are very flexible (unavoidable since it’s retractable) though I would not consider them fragile. The standard sync cable that ships with the Blackjack is only about 4 inches longer than the retractable version.

Quality

The build quality is not great (the spool is all plastic), but is good enough that if it’s not abused there shouldn’t be any issues. While retracting, the two sides of the wire spool up separately, meaning they do not tangle or kink. Both connectors are solidly attached to the cable and fit perfectly into their respective ports.

Conclusion

The Retractable Sync & Charge Cable is a must-have for anyone that syncs their handheld at multiple locations. Whether you are carrying your cable with you or simply have a multiple cables at multiple places, this cable is the best case scenario. You can find models for the Blackjack ($6.95), various models of the Treo ($12.95) as well as a standard USB mini model ($9.95) that will support many phones.