Those clever boffins down at Wi-Ex Central have managed to cram the antennas, cable and amplifier into a single, sleek 2lbs unit. This means that to use the Wi-Ex YX-400 zBoost ONE all you need to do is find a window where you currently get a bit of signal. Place the zBoost ONE near the window, switch it on and you instantly have up to 1,200 sq ft of usable signal.

zBoost ONE YX-400

Compatibility

The YX-400 works with the 1900MHz band, used by loads of US cell phone networks.
Click here to confirm the zBoost ONE is compatible with your network.

Availability

The Wi-Ex zBoost ONE has only just been announced and we do not currently know when they will be ready to ship. The latest we have heard is around Q4, in time for the holiday period.

Product features

• No installation – just plug it in and you have coverage
• Single piece kit – no external antennas, internal antennas or cable
• 1900MHz PCS band, compatible with T-mobile, Verizon (Texas/Florida only), Sprint, Metro PCS, AT&T (some areas only)
• Wireless – no connection to your phone needed
• Good coverage area – cover up to 1,200 sq ft with improved signal
• Single unit measures just 10″ x 9″ x 3.5″

This week, RepeaterStore.com attended CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas. The conference featured over 1,200 exhibitors encompassing all aspects of the wireless industry. Needless to say, our eyes were fixed firmly on the cellular repeaters.

Over the course of the 3-day conference, we met many of our current suppliers (Wilson Electronics, Wi-Ex, Digital Antenna) and others we are planning to add to our store in the very near future (Shyam, Cell Ranger, and more). We discussed the current repeaters on the market, as well as some new products manufacturers are releasing this year.

The following posts will expand on the new products we saw. We’ve taken some photos and we hope you enjoy this glimpse at CTIA Wireless 2008!

We hope to have a unit in our hands for testing as soon as possible. You’ll find our preliminary thoughts and a full product review (once it’s available) on our Wilson Signalboost DT review page.

You will be able to star pre-ordering at the Wilson SignalBoost DT product page as soon as we have confirmation from Wilson as to what quantity will be included in our first shipment.

Update: It turns out that the delay was cancelled. We now have the Wilson SignalBoost DT available for immediate shipping.

Unfortunately, if there is no EVDO/HSDPA coverage at all in your area, there’s no way of improving the signal. However, if you have at least 1 bar of signal somewhere nearby, it’s possible to use a high gain antenna and repeater to amplify the signal and provide reliable broadband access. Since all of our recommended units are dual-band, they will work with services from any of the major carriers, and will also improve voice signals if used with a normal cell phone.

Here are our recommendations:

Universal wired kit: Wilson Signalboost ($219)
For users who want a mobile solution for their broadband woes, we suggest the Wilson Signalboost Kit. The Signalboost amplifier boosts the broadband signal and channels it through a velcro patch that is stuck directly onto your data card or cell phone. Since the Signalboost uses this easy universal connection method, it can be used with cell phone and data card devices from any manufacturer. The kit comes with a 12V DC Cigarette Adapter as standard, but add a Wilson 12V AC Adapter to make the kit usable anywhere.

Direct Connect kit: SignalWide Clickitbase ($249)
For users who need an additional signal improvement, it’s possible to connect a cell phone repeater directly into the antenna port of their data card or cell phone. For these situations we recommend the SignalWide ClickItBase, which is sold with a custom connector for your phone or data card. The ClickItBase is designed specifically for 3G applications, but will improve all signals.

Wireless kit: Wi-Ex zBoost zPersonal zP ($169)
Wireless Extender’s new zP unit is a very low-cost wireless kit that can be used to cover a radius of up to 6 feet from the indoor antenna. To improve broadband coverage throughout a room or small building, we highly recommend Wireless Extender’s zBoost YX-510 repeater kit. The zBoost YX-510 comes with 35 feet of cabling that connects an outdoor antenna to an indoor unit that amplifies and rebroadcasts the signal. The standard YX-510 kit can cover up to 2,500 square feet from a strong outdoor signal.

The zBoost YX500-CEL Premium kit includes an upgraded YX026-CEL Yagi Antenna, and the YX500-PCS Premium Kit includes the YX023-PCS panel antenna.

Since AT&T and Cingular merged a few years ago, the joint company has owned licenses for both frequency bands in most areas. In order to ensure an improvement on voice and data coverage, we recommend purchasing a dual band repeater for AT&T customers. Once installed, these repeaters will also improve the cell signal on every other network (except for Nextel). Here are our recommendations:

Medium reception: For users with medium signal quality outside their building (3 bars or more), the zBoost YX-510 kit will improve your cell phone signal to full bars for AT&T voice and data services, even if you currently have no AT&T service at all inside. This unit will usually cover up to 2,500 square feet. The kit is very easy to install, and comes with everything needed to set the system up. You can find our product page here: Wireless Extender zBoost YX-510.

Low reception: For users with low quality outside their building (2 bars or less), the YX-510 kit Premium Kit can be used to amplify the AT&T signal. This repeater will usually cover up to 3,000 square feet (or 5,000 square feet if you currently have 3 bars or more of signal outside). You can find our product page here: Wireless Extender zBoost YX-510 (scroll half way down the page).

Large coverage areas: For users with 2 or more bars of signal outside their building, and who wish to cover up to 10,000 square feet, we recommend : Digital Antenna DA4KSBR-50U 60dB Repeater Kit (scroll half way down the page). This more powerful antenna also comes with a high-gain omni-directional antenna, and is perfect for large-building installations.

If you have any questions about repeaters, or want a custom recommendation, feel free to call us at 1-800-761-3041 or e-mail us at support@repeaterstore.com.

About a month ago we wrote about Wi-Ex’s announcement of two new repeaters: the zBoost zP Personal and the zBoost zP Wireless. At the time, Wi-Ex didn’t release any tech specs, which left us to wonder how effective a sub-$100 repeater could really be.

Courtesy of Wi-Ex we are now able to reveal that the zBoost zP repeater will have +31 dB gain in the wired “zP Personal” version and +43 dB total system gain in the “zP Wireless” version (measured @ 800 MHz). The difference between the two is down to the gain of the internal antenna that is included as part of the zP Wireless version.

Now, it’s always very unreliable to compare system gains for repeaters from different manufacturers, so to put it in perspective within Wi-Ex’s existing product range, the YX-200 Wireless Vehicle Repeater has a total system gain quoted as +50 dB. This is a difference in system gain of +7 dB between the two wireless repeaters, but taking into account the difference in price tag of around $130, this shows the zP repeater in a reasonably favorable light. However, there is a limit to how much you can learn from a product’s specifications and a more telling test will be when we put this repeater into practice in a real world situation. We will be doing this soon, hopefully before the zP’s scheduled release, which is rumored to be around mid-June.

Regardless, the zboost zP was never about raw amplifier performance and perhaps the most important specs to be released are the price: $99 for the wired version and $169 for the wireless version, and the weight: 10 Oz, or slightly more than half a pound. These figures represent significant reductions when compared with any other repeater available on the market. With dimensions of 4 x 5 x 1.3 inches, the zP is a truly portable repeater system. To have crammed a dual band repeater (i.e. a repeater compatible with all cellular networks other than Nextel) into such as small package is a remarkable achievement. The real question is whether Wi-Ex have managed to achieve this portability without sacrificing performance. On this, the jury is still out.

The full technical specifications are now available on our zP product page: Wi-Ex zBoost zP Repeater

As I said before, we at RepeaterStore are really excited about the new zP. Customers are already asking about availability and we predict it will be one of our most popular models. That’s one reason we were pleased to hear that it was recently honored at the CTIA Wireless Expo 2007.

The zBoost zPersonal was 3rd place winner of the CTIA Emerging Technologies (E-Tech) Award. There’s no doubt that as a cell phone repeater, it is groundbreaking on several levels. Aside from its expected price, it’s also the most portable cell signal amplifier on the market.

We also think that this award is great for the cellular repeater industry in general. It’s great that repeaters are being recognised as groundbreaking technology.

We’re looking into getting a zP here before they’re available to purchase. Hopefully soon we’ll be able to devote a blog post to its power output, coverage area, and more.

We are very excited about this latest development from WiEx. The zPersonal is unique on several levels.

The vision behind the product is to enable customers to quickly create transferable cell zones. The unit is designed to be portable, and to set up in minutes, meaning that customers on the go (between home and office, for example) will be able to take their cell phone repeater with them with ease. It will be available in wired and wireless versions.

But perhaps the most striking aspect of the zBoost zPersonal is its price. It will retail at $99, making it the most affordable cell phone repeater on the market by some distance.

After the success of the zBoost YX500/YX510 range in the consumer oriented cellular repeater market, we hope the zP may too have mass market appeal. It will be available from our website from June.