antenna

iFixit tears down the new AirPort Extreme

iFixIt took a look at the guts of the new MacBook Air, as well as the new AirPort Extreme base station, which Apple unveiled at WWDC 2013. The new AirPort Extreme offers more advancements in speed, connectivity, and capacity than its predecessors and has a new design, to boot.

Instead of being squat and flat, the new design is an elongated cube that looks like a brick standing upright. Apple claims this was required to implement a major advancement with directional antennas that should extend both the range and speed of connections to wireless devices.

This new design has spurred … Read more

iPhone 5 may need third antenna for simultaneous voice-data

The ghost of Apple's iPhone 4 "antennagate" looks to be haunting the iPhone 5.

The reason simultaneous voice and data capability on 4G LTE isn't possible on Sprint and Verizon simply seems to be the new device's hardware.

CNET reported earlier today that the iPhone 5 models for both Verizon and Sprint don't support data-use and voice simultaneously while on 4G LTE networks -- meaning that if users make a voice call, they'll also need to be on Wi-Fi to pull data inside their apps, including the Safari Web browser. AT&T … Read more

Get a Leaf indoor HDTV antenna for $29.99

Remember when TV was free? All you needed was the airwaves to watch all your favorite network shows.

That's still true. In fact, with a decent antenna, you can tune in all your local stations in glorious high-def.

For many folks, that "decent antenna" has been the tough nut to crack. In my edge-of-suburbia neck of the woods, for example, I had to put a powered set of rabbit ears in my attic and run a cord through walls and floors to my TV -- hassle city.

Too bad I didn't know about the Leaf Indoor … Read more

Google points to Iowa for sowing satellite antenna farm

Google announced earlier this month that it was gearing up to start laying fiber-optic lines in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., to deliver very high-speed Internet access to residents. Now, the Web giant is setting it sights on Iowa, according to Data Center Knowledge.

"We are building a very small earth station project that is right next to our data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa," says Google spokesperson Jenna Wandres.

If all goes according to Google's plans, the antennas would receive feeds from broadcast networks and even be bundled with the high-speed fiber service, according … Read more

Settlement reached in iPhone 4 antennagate suit

A settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit targeting the antenna performance of Apple's iPhone 4.

As part of a preliminary approval made this afternoon, U.S. residents who bought Apple's iPhone 4 will be entitled to $15 in cash or a bumper case provided by Apple.

The settlement comes from 18 separate lawsuits that were consolidated into one. All share the claim that Apple was "misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale, and servicing of its iPhone 4--particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and … Read more

Spray-on antenna: Wireless in a can

It sounds like a particularly suspicious late-night infomercial: Spray your way to a better wireless signal! Improve your range! Save battery! Transmit over great distances under water!

But Chamtech's spray-on antenna is a real product with some impressive claims. It can be sprayed on almost any surface, even trees and orange barrels. It doesn't suck up power. It works in a mysterious nanotech way.

Here's how I imagine the antenna process goes:… Read more

For watching the Super Bowl, my TV beat my iPad

I'm a big fan of my iPad, but not for everything. Case in point: this year was highly touted as the year that the Super Bowl would be streaming for free via dedicated apps and NBC's Web site. It sounded promising; I love two-screening it for big sports events. So, I gave it a whirl.

The experiment lasted about a minute.… Read more

Apple applies for antenna technology patent

It has been over a year since the iPhone 4 Antennagate debacle filled the pages of most tech blogs. In that time, everyone from random people on the street to Consumer Reports criticized the iPhone antenna issues, problems that a new patent application from Apple seeks to solve.

Sniffed out by Patently Apple, this application for a window that acts as an antenna may end up being one of the more important filings you'll see this year. In a nutshell, Apple is developing a composite that contains foam cells and could house the iPhone's (or other iDevice's) … Read more

Purported iPhone '4GS' antenna sports minor changes

A purported iPhone "5G" or "4GS" antenna is making the rounds, from accessory maker Ideal Case, which has posted photos of it stacked between existing iPhone 4 antenna casings from the GSM and CDMA models of Apple's phone.

The photos, which were posted without any backstory, are watermarked with "confidential" in red, right where one would be able to examine the casings in further detail.

Despite that, the differences appear to be minor, with the purported antenna design matching up on the bottom with the other two models, as well as a SIM slot located on the same side as the existing GSM model of the iPhone 4. The main difference is a top that features an unbroken band, with side button placement that matches the CDMA model of the iPhone 4.

Apple is expected by some to include a low-cost variant of the iPhone 4, possibly with modified internals, alongside the release of the next-generation iPhone later this year. Most recently that's been pushed in a report from Reuters saying Apple would be launching an 8GB, low-cost iPhone 4 model aimed at emerging markets. Before that, a report from China-based Sohu.com suggested Apple is cooking up two models as part of a deal with China Telecom that would go live later this year. And going back just a bit further, Vietnamese site Tinhte--the same outlet that got ahold of the iPhone 4 ahead of its official announcement, posted photos of what it said is a new variant of the iPhone 4 featuring plastic body parts.

As of late there have also been a slew of "leaked" iPhone parts. An "engineering verification test" of an iPhone screen was posted earlier this week by Macpost, resembling existing iPhone 4 models. Days before, purported images of a frame for the low-cost model iPhone 4 popped up on Macrumors, sporting a slightly different antenna design. There have also been purported leaks of batteries, audio jacks, and screens being manufactured for the unannounced device.

(via 9to5mac) … Read more