Griffin’s antenna 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.
Griffin Technology’s ClearBoost ($35), therefore, is a major stand-out. Described by the company as an “antenna-boosting case,” which “improves reception as it protects your iPhone,” ClearBoost is the first iPhone case with an integrated, stub-like antenna at the top, as well as the first that measurably improves iPhone cell reception—under certain conditions.
Like most iPhone cases, ClearBoost is almost entirely made from plastic—here, jet black opaque plastic—and provides coverage for most, but not all of the iPhone’s body. There’s a clear glossy full face screen protector that leaves the ear speaker and Home button open, but covers the rest of iPhone’s glass front, and the case covers everything save the device’s side and top controls, top and bottom ports, rear camera, the speakerphone features and SIM card slot.
As with all Griffin cases, it’s designed to fit into Universal Docks without an issue, and permit complete accessory compatibility; again, it works with everything save Apple’s packed-in iPhone Dock. Additionally, Griffin’s antenna is small and neutral enough that it doesn’t make your iPhone look ridiculous or dramatically change its pocketability; like all hard plastic iPhone cases, you’re more likely to notice the additional thickness than the stub’s added 0.6” height.
In the vast, ever-expanding world of iPhone cases and films, it would be fair to say that 10% are merely decorative, 10% are solely protective, and the other 80% are designed to be some combination of the two. Until today, however, roughly zero cases have been designed to improve the iPhone’s core functionality, a number that increases to perhaps 3% if you count the few cases with integrated video stands.
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