there should be a big wireless boom in the next few years I think, but I wonder how much of that will be taken care of by wifi and other solutions that are packaged within the computer devices themselves as opposed to wireless cards…… does sierra have any contracts with major manufacturers on the horizon?

http://www.intelligentspeculator.net

I have always been of the belief that antenna improvement is the best way to solve a problem (instead of “boosters”), but I have yet to buy the extension antenna, so I am interested in how that turns out.

We bought a Verizon booster for my boss and an AT&T booster for me. The AT&T booster hooks into my Treo. While the booster does improve the connectivity, it does not enhance data speed much. For me, it gives me a consistent connection at home in the country where the cell signal is weak. That keeps me connected to the Internet (via bluetooth connection from the Treo). I have seen some download speed increase, but the upload speed doubled, but I never lose the connection now. Smooth Talker denies it helps in data speed. Our hope is that it will give us a consistent connection in our Nature Center amongst all of the trees (runs off of 12V or AC/DC adapter).

My boss uses it with his Verizon USB air card to boost his signal as well. He has seen some speed enhancement, but again the biggest thing is connectivity being consistent. I went from the 0, 1, or 2 bar signal to consistently 3 and 4 bars.

The boosters run about 350 each with one antenna adapter. I can order additional adapters to fit new equipment as long as it is on the same network. Thanks for the product link above. I can use that to get the right adapter on the way.

By the way, the boosters come with the antennas which will also just plug directly into the phone adapter (bypassing the booster) in case the booster isn’t really convenient or needed. The booster will adjust itself back in power in areas with high signal strength, so it is not always a must have.

I am waiting for Vicki Allen to bring me one of those as well as the PCMCIA card with WAP box for portable clouds. We are going to use it in the nature center we are building behind our elementary. I was wondering if you could tell me if the USB AT&T piece you are using has an antenna jack on it. We use Smooth Talker to boost our signal in weak areas. I am not sure how long it will be before the USB piece gets here, but we wanted to order the antenna jack adapter from Smooth Talker. Thanks for any help you can give me.