ClearBoost – Review

Griffin ClearBoost case for iPhone
Company: Griffin Technology
US $29.99
http://www.griffintechnology.com

Griffin’s new case for the iPhone is supposed to be a twofer; a hard plastic case and an internal antenna that improves cell phone reception.

How does it perform?

The ClearBoost case is a two-piece (top and bottom) case that snaps together, encasing the iPhone snugly within. There’s never a worry about the iPhone sliding out of the case, as can happen with slot-loading cases, as the two halves snap tightly together. In fact, you need a small screwdriver or a quarter to pop the two halves apart.

However, the hard plastic case material, while tough, is slippery. I was immediately struck by how smooth the case was; there was no sense of tackiness or grippiness to the material. I used the ClearBoost for a couple of days, and had it accidentally slip out of my hands more than once. Also, there is no belt clip, so the iPhone will have to live in your pocket or purse.

The main selling point of the ClearBoost case is improved cell phone reception. That’s the "boost" in ClearBoost. Inside the bottom case is an unpowered antenna that sits firmly against the back of the iPhone outer shell when closed. I’m not enough of an electrical engineer to know how the induction works to transfer the signal from the ClearBoost’s antenna to the iPhone, but Griffin says there is a marked improvement.

Part of the review package is a white paper telling reviewers how to access the iPhone’s Field Test Mode to measure the cell tower signal strength. I tapped in the code (*3001#12345#*) and went to Cell Information.

I live a bowl-like depression in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, in the northern part of Tucson, AZ. ATT’s cell phone coverage is usable, but just barely. The reported signal strength without the case was barely within what Griffin calls "usable." Oddly, the audio quality is fairly good, and ATT coverage is better than Sprint, my previous carrier.

I first noted the signal strengths without the ClearBoost from the five towers (uniformly poor), and then strapped the iPhone into the ‘Boost.

Hmmm, the signal strengths were almost identical, and the apparent call quality was unchanged.

I went back to the reviewers guide, and found that other data from the towers showed that, in my location, ATT was using the 1900 mHz band.

Unfortunately, the ClearBoost antenna is designed to work best with the 850 mHz band. It may have some small improvements for 1900 mHz signal, but not much compared to 850 mHz signals. Griffin says that ATT uses the 850 mHz band in most parts of the US. But Tucson appears to be all 1900 mHz. I tried the ClearBoost at Nemo’s house, about five miles due west of my location, only to find that his area uses the 1900 mHz band, as well.

I spent twenty minutes on the ATT web site, trying to discover what parts of the US use 850 or 1900 mHz, and could not find any information. I suspect it’s there, but I couldn’t dig it up.

Is the ClearBoost right for you? I’m not really able to comment on how well the antenna works in the 850 mHz band, so I can’t say yea or nay. Antenna performance aside, the case is too slippery, and needs a belt clip.

MyMac.rating 2.5 based mostly on the case’s slipperiness.