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How much time do you spend in your car? Before I up and moved to New York City, I spent probably more than 10 hours a week in my car, whether commuting to work, running errands, or heading to a social event. This presented me with an opportunity not only to catch up on podcasts, but also to charge my electronics. Why let that cigarette lighter go to waste? For years I never had a discharged iPod. The thing was almost always running on full battery, because I had it plugged in whenever possible. Ditto my BlackBerry. If you spend more than five hours per week in your car, I highly recommend picking up a BlackBerry car charger. The only question that remains is of which you will choose.

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When I first saw the Energizer EnergiStick, I thought it was one of the coolest little gadgets around. No long would I have to fear my battery dying if there wasn’t an outlet available — or worse, if I forgot my charger, as I do so often. The device has an obvious limitation in that it can only provide a certain level of charge before needing a charge itself. Apparently, there was an even cooler BlackBerry charger on display at CES last week, though it went underreported. The folks at OhGizmo caught wind of it, though, and because of them we can now revel in the coolness of the RCA Airnergy. It charges your BlackBerry wirelessly.

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Here’s a feeling I’d like to avoid for the rest of my life. You’re at a trade show, cruising the expo hall floor, calling and messaging to make appointments. You meet with people, exchanging contact information. While grabbing lunch you watch a quick video you saved on your SD card. Then, come mid-afternoon, disaster strikes. You’re almost out of battery. It’s no surprise, really. Your backlight has been on constantly, which slowly eats away at battery life. You’d go camp out next to an outlet and plug in for a while, but gosh darnit you’re just so busy. This is the exact market Energizer had in mind when it created the EnergiStick, a new addition to its Energi To Go line of products.

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Does cell phone radiation cause cancer? Scientists have debated this issue for years and have come to no consensus. Some studies try to show that it does cause cancer, while others try to show that it does not. Exercising caution is probably the best route for now, until scientists conduct more conclusive studies. With all this uncertainty, I’m sure BlackBerry users weren’t happy to hear last September that the BlackBerry Curve 8330 emits a high level of radiation, the fourth highest among popular handsets. For concerned BlackBerry users, Pong Research just announced a new case that claims to reduce radiation. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of these claims, but if you’re looking for peace of mind, you might want to check out this new case.

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You won’t catch me wearing a Bluetooth headset. No sir, not me. My girlfriend got me one a few years ago to use while driving, and while I did that reluctantly, I immediately ditched the thing when I moved to the city and sold my car. Call me old fashioned, but I like holding the receiver to my ear. Plus, any time I see someone with a Bluetooth headset I can’t help but think of this clip (which contains profanity). But there are many benefits to using a Bluetooth headset, and there are many people who benefit from using them — especially car drivers. So, with the help of everyone on the BBGeeks staff, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite Bluetooth headsets. Clearly we’re not going to cover them all, so let us know if we missed one that you particularly like.

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Cell phone, wallet, keys. That’s the standard pocket check when leaving the house. BlackBerry in the front right pocket, wallet and keys in the front left. While this layout makes for easy access, it does become quite bulky. Even with relatively loose jeans, you can still see the outlines of a BlackBerry and my wallet in each pocket. It’s not a big deal, really, but I like to avoid it when possible. For instance, I switched from a wallet to a money clip (with card holders) a year ago. Case-Mate now has a way for me to further combine. Their ID line of cases now comes with a card holder, so you can eliminate the need for a wallet. You can use an even thinner money clip and still have everything you need when leaving the house.

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Look up forgetful in the dictionary, and you’ll probably see my smiling mug. I forget everything at some time or another. You can call me up and remind me 20 minutes before I leave, and I still might forget it. That’s why the nio is perfect for me. It’s a Bluetooth-activated device that lets you know when you get too far from your favorite gadgets. Once you leave a predetermined radius — the maximum, of course, being the Bluetooth range — nio will activate an alarm. So you can just bop yourself on the forehead and go retrieve your device.

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Can you imagine what would happen if you dropped your BlackBerry and it didn’t work afterward? It’s a nightmare that few of us want to envision, but it does happen. That’s why we encase our BlackBerry devices. It’s almost like insurance against bumps and scratches. My love affair with OtterBox cases started at CTIA 2008, when I reviewed the Defender series case. It was super protective, but as a friend of mine commented, it looked like a UPS package scanner. OtterBox recently released the Commuter series, a lighter weight version that still provides plenty of protection. So let’s take a look.

NOTE: Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post for information on how you can win an OtterBox Commuter Series Case simply by leaving a comment on this post!

UPDATE: Congratulations to the Lucky Winners of the BBGeeks / OtterBox contest
Congratulations to Mallissa, Laura, Janet and Peachy! You are all winners of OtterBox Commuter Series cases from BBGeeks.
(One of you actually gets a different case but I will let you know that in the follow up email I am sending.)

Thank you all for the amazing comments/entries. We will absolutely run another one of these contests in the new year!
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How do you connect to the Internet when you’re on the road? Do you have a netbook? Do you tether your BlackBerry to your laptop? Or do you just use your BlackBerry as a mini computer? Those seem to be the three main options, but a device from Celio adds another option. The Redfly Mobile Companion looks like a laptop, but really it’s just a device that allows you to access your smartphone through a computer interface. The device has been around for a bit, compatible with Windows Mobile phones. Yesterday, however, they added BlackBerry support. Ed Hardy of Brighthand.com has a quick review.

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A few weeks ago I wrote a review of the Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 Stereo Bluetooth Headset. While my experience with that particular headset was decent, it was not as functional as I had hoped for and the lanyard style of transport was awkward at best.

It is for that reason that I decided to continue my quest for the best set of Bluetooth headphones for your BlackBerry. There are many types available so you can expect to see a few more headset reviews coming down the line from BBGeeks.

This time I have decided to check out the Samsung SBH600 Stereo Headset.
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