Wi-Ex's ZBoost zPersonal YX300 cell phone signal booster does one thing alone: you put the unit on a window that gets good cellular signal, and you run the 20-ft antenna cable somewhere in your home, office or dungeon that doesn't. It has no options, buttons, switches, dials or knobs; you plug it in, and it works.
Tested in several locations in two houses, it seems to live up to that claim. Bearing in mind that our test protocol was unscientific —
"wander around the house looking for places the signal drops, then set up the zPersonal in nearby a good spot and see if you get more bars" —
this is the cheapest way to fix small, annoying deadspots. And small means small: a few feet of range is all you get.
Note that it doesn't improve the original signal, but merely carries it elsewhere: it didn't give me more bars than was normally available at the source location. We tried it with GSM and CDMA handsets, and it worked with both. It doesn't talk IDEN or Nextel, according to the box.
In getting such a device for only $170, there's one obvious compromise: it's not very rugged. After about half an hour of unplugging, replugging, falling off its suckers onto windowsills, and so on, it (or, perhaps, its power supply) died.
In other words, if you get one, set it up once and don't let anyone else mess around with it. And if you want something a little more rugged, spend a little more money. A $330 model from a different firm has a 50-ft antenna cable and much better specifications.
Product Page [Repeater Store]
