Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Wilson Readies In-Car Cellphone Booster With Universal Cradle

Las
Vegas – Wilson Electronics of St. George, Utah, is traveling to next week’s
International CTIA Wireless 2010 with its latest in-vehicle cellular-signal
booster, the Sleek.

Expected
to ship around mid-April to early May at an expected retail of about $129, the
Sleek amplifies the signal of any 850/1900MHz cellphone placed in its universal
cradle, which features a flexible holding mechanism that accommodates any shape
phone. An amplified cellular transceiver embedded in the device’s cradle
wirelessly amplifies the phone’s signal to 1.82 watts, making a wired
connection to the amplifier unnecessary. The cradle connects to a magnet-mount
antenna on the vehicle’s roof and gets power from the vehicle’s cigarette
lighter.

For
the phone’s signal to be amplified, the phone must remain in the cradle, but
drivers can use the phone’s speakerphone capability or Bluetooth to send and
receive calls. The cradle also incorporates a charger that connects via cable
to a phone’s USB charging port via a choice of supplied cables.

The
Sleek will follow the fall 2009 launch of another universal in-vehicle signal
booster, the U-Booster, which is available at $180 to $200 to amplify the
signals of multiple cellphones up to two feet away inside the vehicle, a
spokesman said. The U-Booster is larger and amplifies output up to 2 watts.

Wilson offers other
in-vehicle boosters designed specifically to accommodate specific phones
models. One booster is shaped to hold the iPhone, and another holds specific
models of the BlackBerry Curve.

Like
the Sleek, multiple Wilson
models are designed to work with CDMA and GSM phones in both the 850MHz and
1900MHz bands. Wilson
also offers models designed to work only with iDEN-network phones.

Featured

Close