Griffin's antenna-stub sporting ClearBoost case for the iPhone just hit the streets, and opinions are already pouring in. The case involves the antenna, a bumper and a screen protector, and while the resulting combination is not much for loooks, iLounge found it to improve performance in certain situations. Apparently in very low coverage areas the ClearBoost isn't much help, but in wonky two or three bar situations ClearBoost added one or two bars. Sounds like a win to us, but you're going to have to have some serious need of signal to sacrifice iPhone aesthetics this totally.

[Via iLounge]

We've seen some pretty outrageous looking antennas in our day, but NEC could have a hit on its hands with this newfangled cloth iteration. Granted, details are still hazy, but apparently this device can receive OTA TV signals and double as a handkerchief if you so desire. Reportedly, the firm has lined the cloth triangles with a "special metal" that can pick up broadcasted signals, and it's already thinking about integrating this into tents and other outdoor equipment. Additionally, this could certainly take wearable electronics to a new level if it were woven into one's garb (walking televisions, anyone?), but sadly, there's no word as to when (or if) this technology will hit the mainstream.

[Thanks, kaztm]

Although we certainly wish it was our hands wrapped around FON's La Fontenna, we've been admittedly busy handling other matters over the weekend, so we're glad to see that our Chinese brethren were able to do the honors. The directional antenna looks to be a rather simplistic and unvaried device, as it simply replaces the stubby antenna on your La Fonera and instantly boosts your range (and popularity amongst other now-nearby users, we presume). During rather unscientific testing, the crew was able to notice a halfway decent increase in signal strength in a number of (marginally) faraway locales, and while recorded increases weren't anything to write home about, more connectivity is never a bad thing to have. So go on, give the read link a visit, and check out a few more unboxing shots during your stay.

Those who wander into the realms of spying, phreaking, and dubious eavesdropping are likely familiar with Wim Van Eck, but for those new to remote screen-grabbing scene, you should probably take note. Back in the day, Mr. Eck "proved it was possible to tune into the radio emissions produced by electromagnetic coils in a CRT display and then reconstruct the image," effectively rending the images on a distant monitor without the user knowing. Now, however, a modern day guru in his own right has found that the methodology used in 1985 can still be potent today, albeit on laptops and flat panel LCDs. Markus Kuhn has since discovered that by tuning into the radio emissions produced by the cables running into a monitor, hackers can garner the pixels one at a time, and carefully stack them together to form a picture of someone else's screen. Reportedly, Markus was able to "see a PowerPoint presentation from a stand 25 meters away (pictured)," and he also noted that laptops with metal hinges were particularly good targets as they tended to broadcast the necessary signals quite well. Of course, we aren't encouraging the act of on-screen voyeurism without appropriate consent, but if you're interested in seeing what's behind the (faraway) LCD, be sure to hit the read link and push aside those morals for a moment. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via Slashdot]

The idea of extended range WiFi has been around the block before, but amidst all the talk of mass WiMAX deployments comes a swank new idea to get vanilla WiFi out to more people without breaking any laws or relying on expensive hardware upgrades. Apparently, researchers at Intel have "created a system that lets WiFi signals, which ordinarily carry a few hundred feet, instead travel 100 kilometers, or more than 60 miles." Interestingly enough, the system supposedly relies on "modified software" running on regular WiFi equipment, and wireless access points with the newfangled software can seemingly daisy-chain directional network traffic through "several carefully aligned steerable antennas in order to eventually reach a fiber link connected to the internet." Unfortunately (for us, at least), Intel has emerging markets on the brain rather than rolling this out in the US or UK, as it reckons the "$700 to $800 long range WiFi towers" would do quite well in locales that balk at $15,000 WiMAX towers. So if you're currently stealing some dignitary's WiFi in Uganda in order to read this, fret not, as Intel's looking your way for testing "later this year."

We've got quantum dot lasers, cryptographic data networks, teleportation (saywha?), and a pesky company to boot, but the (in)famous defense contractor Lockheed Martin has apparently hit the loony sauce a bit too quickly on its latest patent application. In a proposed effort to concoct the ultimate omniscient radar, the firm is suggesting that it can break the boundaries of theoretical physics and create a "quantum entanglement" scanner that can "penetrate any type of defense to identify hidden weapons and roadside bombs from hundreds of miles away." The theory -- which hasn't been realized in a product just yet -- suggests that two particles can be joined so that whatever happens to one must also happen to its partner, however far apart they are, which could be used to detect contraband from faraway locales (or peek through suspicious garb). Interestingly, it doesn't seem that we're the only ones wondering just what type of Kool-Aid the outfit's R&D department is sipping, as a physicist at Manchester University has reportedly insinuated that even in the far-reaching world of quantum physics, "the mechanics are just wrong." Seriously, isn't a Big Brother blimp enough for you guys?

[Via Wired]

Although we wouldn't advise that you use Ruckus Wireless' latest gizmo on a faraway neighbor's stray WiFi signal if you're housin' it in Singapore, the MetroFlex DZ allows you to pull (legal) "outdoor, metro wireless internet signals" into your home with a single device. This dual-zone device didn't change much in the design department from the media-centric 2825 MediaFlex router, but its patent-pending smart antenna technology "dynamically selects the best sending and receiving antennas for incoming and outgoing WiFi signals," allowing subscribers of outdoor broadband to provide WiFi in the home. You'll also find the usual bevy of security measures here, such as IP management, discrete SSIDs, WEP, and WPA2, but those hoping to snag a bit of draft-N action here will be sorely disappointed. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but hopefully it'll help out you lucky souls with citywide WiFi floating around.

[Via TheWirelessReport]

Ah, just what we needed -- yet another Chinese navigation system that touts mutiple layers of functionality, but probably doesn't really excel in any of them. Shenzen Leadertone has its Windows CE-powered GPS3000 on deck and ready for showing at next week's CES, and aside from the somewhat gaudy window attachment, it manages to sport a 3.5-inch 4:3 touchscreen, SD / MMC flash card slots, rechargeable four-hour battery, turn-by-turn voice guidance, and a built-in, brain-rattling one-watt speaker to crank out the MP3, WMA, and WAV files. Additionally, it can playback ASF and AVI video formats, recognize text files / pictures, and touts automatic redirecting, 3D / "overlook" views, and an integrated 159dBm GPS antenna. Of course, it the included one isn't up to your requirements, you can attach an external antenna of your own thanks to the MCX port. No information regarding pricing or availability has been released just yet, but all that should become perfectly clear when it hits the Vegas floors in just a few days.

[Via Navigadget]

Here at Engadget, we're all about DIY projects that make your (and our) life easier. Ever since the days when range-extending cantennas were the rage, we've all been hankering for increasing the reception of our notebook's WiFi adapter (legally). Displeased with the built-in Dell 1470 a/b/g mini PCI unit in his Asus A2H notebook, a brave, engineering mind over at NotebookReview took to eBay in search of a solution. After purchasing a $118 "Turbo-Tenna," he concocted a plan (hit the read link for the full skinny) to wire the amplifier internally in order to provide a sleek, unobtrusive appearance. Using a soldering iron and an "on / off switch," he wired the Hong Kong-based device to his laptop's power supply and routed the connector to free pins on the VGA output. Once complete, his reception went from spotty and sluggish (1Mbps) to a much improved 24Mbps. It was noted that the installation was a tad on the complex side, and when the antenna is in use, your VGA port is subsequently out of order -- but hey, who needs a connection to the board room projector when you're enjoying wireless internet on a beautiful offshore island?

Although it's hardly the most visually appealing device modification we've ever seen, the practicality that this do-it-all dock offers Dell Axim PDA owners is pretty much unrivaled. The mod gives the Axim useful ports like a VGA-out port, a serial port, a car charger, a 4 port USB hub, and RCA and mini jack audio connectors, all contained in one helluva bulky package. Of more interest to the warwalking crowd is a separate modder's WiFi antenna port modification -- something which really should be standard on all portable 802.11-enabled kit by now.

You never know what you'll find when digging through the US Patent files, and it has been discovered that Samsung has filed one of their own in hopes of using the atmosphere as an antenna. Researchers and employees in Korea are devising a method to use the ionosphere -- the layer of the atmosphere at around 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface -- as a medium for "long distance communication" without the need for expensive satellites. The ionosphere already plays a role in communications as a "radio reflector" that bounces low frequency radio signals from sea to shining sea. But by launching UHF signals behind a 1GHz carrier signal, scientists hope to alter the behavior of the ionosphere to create an alternating current, which can then be modulated at a particular frequency in order to create an antenna of global proportions. While the precise utility of such an antenna is not yet clear, we're glad it's in the works, as this sounds like just the thing to solve those dropped call blues -- or not.

[Via Textually]

Broadband Antenna Tracking Solutions, or BATS for short, is a start-up company founded by a group of Purdue University professors who are developing an auto-aiming antenna system for wireless networks. Using proprietary software and off-the-shelf electronics, the system works by mounting a seeker antenna on a stationary or mobile object (boats and vehicles included) and allowing the powerful tracking software to keep a constant lock on the nearest target antenna. Currently designed for WiFi and fixed wireless broadband radios (WiMax support is planned, if ever needed), the BATS system can maintain a connection longer and suffer less interference due to the directional antennas broadcasting a fixated beam. The movement of the seeker antenna is controlled by two servo motors and a programmable logic controller (PLC) that is directed by software calculations, which in tests could maintain a signal on a moving watercraft for 12 miles, and keep a cruising vehicle connected for 8 miles. The application is, of course, of relatively limited use for civilians, but if there's a chance we'll see it commercialized since the BATS management team is currently seeking potential investors to get this project dialed in.

A Korean company called Spectrum has announced the impeding global launch of its small HD-mini indoor HDTV antenna that can be used with built-in, standalone, or PC-based digital tuners. The company, which won an award from the country's busy Ministry of Information and Communication for another innovative antenna design, employs so-called Planar Inverted F Antenna (PIFA) and broadband reception technologies to supposedly give it decent performance despite its size and location. Unfortunately, there's no word yet on when we'll see this model Stateside, nor how much it'll go for.