Modern phones deeply rely on the ability to efficiently switch between two, three, or even more bands, a sad reality of the patchwork map of available spectrum the nations of the world have imposed on themselves. That kind of multiband tech requires really awesome miniaturized antenna tech, and a Spanish company, Fractus, says that a whole bunch of the world's top-tier manufacturers are blatantly violating its IP in the field. It's suing Samsung, LG, RIM, Pantech, Kyocera, Palm, HTC, Sharp, UTStarcom, and Sanyo for allegedly infringing on a total of nine patents it holds; the company doesn't specify what kinds of damages it's seeking, but something tells us it's a huge-ish number. Considering that we're pretty big fans of reception, this is a suit we can kinda get behind -- assuming Fractus' claims are legit, of course.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Griffin's antenna-stub sporting ClearBoost case for the iPhone just hit the streets, and opinions are already pouring in. The case involves the antenna, a bumper and a screen protector, and while the resulting combination is not much for loooks, iLounge found it to improve performance in certain situations. Apparently in very low coverage areas the ClearBoost isn't much help, but in wonky two or three bar situations ClearBoost added one or two bars. Sounds like a win to us, but you're going to have to have some serious need of signal to sacrifice iPhone aesthetics this totally.

[Via iLounge]

The crafty engineers at Samsung haven't given up on their lil' stubs -- the company has just received a patent for integrating a USB or FireWire plug into a stick-out antenna, allowing you to charge or sync your phone with ease. We don't know what Sammy is planning to do with this, but that illustration is giving us hope that it's about to release a new take on one of our all-time faves, the Ericsson T39m.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Last time we checked, RIM's 8700 series BlackBerrys were sleek little devices without an external antenna anywhere to be found. We're at a loss, then, to explain this little gem unearthed by a reader on a page detailing Sprint's BlackBerry 8703e and 7130e which clearly shows the former bearing a big, obtrusive, unappealing stub jutting from the top left. We smell a conspiracy -- what's the deal here? Are there two versions of the Sprint 8703e floating around? If so, is the antenna for GPS reception? If not, what prompted some graphics dude / dudette to graft the stub onto the press imagery? We have a sneaking suspicion some clowns at Sprint are snickering at us right now, watching us get all worked up over this. Can't breathe, hyperventilating... excuse us while we go grab a paper bag.

[Thanks, Jeremy]

We're certain there's a better way to increase your cellphone signal, and it's clearly not those mass-marketed antenna boosters from days past. But Purdue University grad student Yuehui Ouyang may be onto something. With the help of electrotextiles -- clothing with metal in or on it -- she has determined that using outerwear as a mega-antenna would yield fewer dropped calls and cause less frustration by eliminating the need to find just the right corner to stand in to get signal. Essentially, the antennas on your body would receive the signal and pass it a short distance to the mobile, creating a larger opportunity for remaining connected while chatting. Currently, her antenna-strapped lab coat acts as the prototype, but she's hoping to extend the technology to sweaters, jackets, and other forms of clothing sure to give fits to metal detectors. The first wave of recipients, should this ever go big-time, would likely be government and emergency personnel who could immediately benefit from "hands-free clothing." While the new threads sound practical, we should probably ensure these things aren't traceable before suiting a soldier up in electrotextiles for top secret reconnaissance.

[Via Textually]