Edward Kiledjian

We are a society that prides itself on always being connected and there is nothing more frustrating that having weak WIFI or 3G that causes intermittent connectivity flickering. I experience this most often when using hotel WIFI. Sometimes my room is just at the edge of the reception range and I have to walk around trying to find the best spot to get a signal.

Absolute (link) developed its Linkase (for iPhone 5 and 5s) specifically to help you get a signal when you might otherwise not. It does this using an Electromagnetic Wave Guide to direct more of that signal goodness directly into your devices internal antenna. 

Anytime I do a review, the question I want to answer is: "Is the device worth the $39 asking price?" Read on to find out...

Let's get physical

The case itself is made from a hard solid feeling plastic. It has a slightly graining feeling which makes the (normally) slippery iPhone much easier to grip. It measures 126.4mm x 61.2mm x 10.8 mm, which means it is extremely thin and doesn't add bulk to your phone. It is smaller and more compact that the original Apple brand leather iPhone 5s case.

It has 2 EMV antennas:

• Top one for WIFI boosting
• Bottom one for 3G boosting (LTE versions available by region)

As you can see, there is a cutout for the camera and there is a cutout for the side control buttons and the bottom (speaker, microphone and lightning connector).

The EMW sensor is a special material that traps the WIFI or 3G signal and forces it towards you devices internal antenna (without requiting any plugs, cables or device modification). When the antennas are not in use (you can use 1 or both at any given time), they cleanly slide into the case and disappear. 

I used the case with a ZAGG InvisibleShield screen protector and it worked perfectly together.

All of the original iphone controls work very well and are easily accessible. The only difficulty is getting the hard shell on and off.

Unlike the "real" protective cases, this devices primary job is boosting your WIFI /3G signal and therefore it doesn't offer much protection if your phone is dropped. It will prevent scratches but don't expect real dependable drop protection. You give up drop protection in exchange for sleekness.

Does the Linkase Pro work?

I tested the WIFI portion at home, at work and in a coffee shop. Each time I tested network performance using the IOS Speedtest.net app and performed at least 4 pairs of tests (1 pair = with case then without the case).  I ensured that for each pair, the phone didn't move and that the same Speedtest.net endpoint server was being used. I performed 4 pairs of tests to ensure the results where one-off issues.

I discovered that when I was in a good WIFI zone, the case actually seemed to slightly negatively impact WIFI performance. Standing about 10 feet from my Asus 801.11n router, I was downloading around 26.5Mbps without the case and 23.2-24.9 with the case. Surprisingly upload speeds seemed not affected.

But the case is built for low signal boosting so I walked far enough to where the WIFI signal was at 1 bar without the EMW antenna deployed. I then performed the tests again and the case didn't improve download or upload speeds. At this distance, the case had no performance impact on download/upload speeds.

For each test, I also loaded popular websites CNN, Kiledjian.com, Yahoo, Google (clearing cache between each test) and performance wasn't materially different (with or without the case).

My final test was WIFI boosting capabilities in a dead spot. I walked just to the point where my iPhone lost the wifi signal (walking a couple of feet back would bring the signal back). I deployed the WIFI EMV and then checked the network settings app to see if the iPhone could see the WIFI network beacon (with and without the case) and it couldn't. 

What about the 3G boosting capabilities?

I performed similar tests on the 3G boosting capabilities which was easy because I work in a building and area with bad cell reception. The 3G boosting capabilities were just as bad as the WIFI ones. 

For the purpose of comparison, I also tested signal boosting ability of my Wilson Electronics 3G/LTE Active powered booster and this one made a difference to reception quality and strength. Of course I expected the Wilson to perform better since it is powered and has active electronics.

Verdict

This was one of those products that I really really wanted to work. I loved its promise of signal boosting and could imagine dozens of different uses for me (especially when travelling). Unfortunately (in my tests), it didn't provide any benefit WIFI or 3G.

For the purpose of completeness of testing, I installed the case on a non-technical friends iphone 5s and asked him to give me his feedback. A couple of days later he said he didn't notice any change (positive or negative). His exact comment was "With the case, I have the exact same reception as without the case. Dead spots are dead and when I'm in the basement, I get the same abysmal wifi I have always had".

Since this is a user oriented article I won't get into the technical details about what the heartbleed bug is but in simple terms it is a vulnerability in a very commonly used security protocol that could allow an attacker to "steal" 64 KB of server data (from memory) at a time.

Current estimates peg the impact of this bug at about 500,000 sites or ~20 of secured SSL sites on the internet. This bug has gone undetected by mainstream researchers for 2 years and could allow a technically savvy attacker to continually exploit a server in the hope of finding passwords, credit card or other valuable user information.

At this point I am not aware of this bug being exploited in the wild.

I'm a user and I'm panicking

First thing you need to do is calm down. It is a major vulnerability but the fix can only be applied by the operators of the affected sites (Google, Yahoo, etc). 

Know that once the issue is fixed on a server, the server operator will invalidate the old (potentially) compromised security certificate and add it to a revocation list. The first thing you should do is

ensure your browser checks all SSL certificates against that revocation list. In chrome do this:

- Open a new tab

- In the URL address bar, type  chrome://settings/

- Click on show advanced settings

- Scroll down until you see the SSL/TLS section 

- Make sure this checkbox is ticked

Once a website upgrades the software, you should change your password on that site. Changing it before the bug is fixed is useless since it could potential be exploited and stollen again. Some sites (like Facebook and Yahoo) have admitted to using the vulnerable product and have confirmed their software is now upgraded. This means you can go ahead and change your password for those sites.

Other sites (like banking) will likely never admit to having the vulnerability (and not all versions are vulnerable) so you'll have to use the heartbleed site checker tool on sites like Lastpass (link).

What if the site doesn't notify you? Maybe change your password now anyway and change it again once a week for the next 2-3 weeks. Sometimes they won't admit to being vulnerable to hearbleed but may say "your account has been locked for security reasons please change your password."

You should be using a password manager so that you can protect each website with a long unique password. I use WolframAlpha to generate strong long unique passwords for each site (wrote an article about it LINK) and store them in Lastpass (since remembering them is impossible.) 

EVLeaks has proven to be fairly reliable over the years and his latest prediction is that the next Motorola Moto X will be called the Moto X+1. 

We haven't seen too many rumours surrounding this upcoming device so we'll have to wait and see what the Lenovo owned unit will deliver. It is important to remember that many Android watchers still call the Moto X the best Android phone around (even though it was released August 2013).

In Canada the Moto X was released exclusively on Rogers and I am really hoping they bring the new device to Telus and Bell also. 

In the US and Canada, we have seen more and more tier-2 carriers selling the Moto X which typically indicates it will shortly be replaced.

(Product)Red is a Bono charity to fight the global AIDS epidemic. Apple strongly believes in the cause and has a special line of (RED) products and accessories. For each (RED) product sold, Apple makes a donation to the charity and now those donations have added up to $70,000,000. 

(Product)RED has said Apple is single largest corporate benefactor. In addition to the money 
(which is obviously important), Apple also supports the movement by changing its Apple store logos to red during world AIDS day and John Ive has designed special one-off products that were auctioned for (Product)RED.

WSJ (link) is reporting that a company called StoreDot has developed a biological battery that can be charged in 30 seconds. The technology comes from the nanotechnology department of the university of Tel Aviv.

Fast chargers are nothing new but they are typically too big to be considered portable. StoreDot's technology is relative portable and can be adapted for use by almost any cellphone. The other benefit is cost. The company expects its technology to only cost twice the market price of a normal everyday charger. 

As exciting as all of this is, you can put your credit card away. The company doesn't expect to commercialize the product until 2016. 

This is one of the most exciting technologies I have seen in a while and I really hope they stay independent and built this for many smartphones (and not get snapped up by Apple or Samsung).

Epoch.2 is a well rated iPhone, iPod and iPad game that costs anywhere from $2-$6 normally on the store (currently it's priced at $4.99). 

You cannot get it for free as the IGN free game of the month (link). But you have to go through this link to claim your redemption code.

Planes are boring. Sitting on a plane, waiting to takeoff, without entertainment is even worse. Imagine what happens when you take the cast of a Lion King production  (in Australia) and get them to sing The Circle of Life. 

Google released an interesting blog post (link) regarding Office features. The most interesting revelation is that there will be Outlook Web Access OWA for Android. OWA will be released as a native Android app 

Expect this feature to roll out to Office 365 subscribers in 2014.

I wrote about the release of TheBrain for iPhone/IPad this week (link) and have been playing with it since released. It works fairly well and I think they did a good job.

But what about an Android client? The question I started receiving from readers is:

"Will there be a version of TheBrain for Android?"

I asked Shelley the question and here is her answer

Any idea when TheBrain for Android be release?

Every traveller knows that dreaded feeling of running out of power for your Macbook or iPhone. Imagine running our of juice while in transit, on a long plane ride or at a customer site. You could always hunt for a power outlet but sometimes, there just isn't one in around. 

This is where a cool new product called BatteryBox (link) comes in. It isn't available yet, so I haven't tested it myself but it promises to juice up an Apple Macbook Air for an additional 12 hours or a Macbook pro for 6 more hours. 

The BatteryBox has a Magsafe2 adaptor so you can plug it directly to your device and immediately enjoy power independence. It will power your Macbook device directly and not charges its battery (which means you don't lose power from a  battery to battery charge ergo its more efficient).

It also offers a USB adaptor to charge any USB compatible device. The real kicker is what the manufacturer calls BatteryOS. They claim this special controller will upgrade the battery life of the device to 3000 full charge cycles while still maintaining a 96% charge capacity after 5 years. All of this adds up to a great value even at the pre-sale price of $139.

Everyone with a smartphone has experienced the pain of running our of power just when you need it most. Sure you can always carry around an external battery pack but always on batteries cases are the go to solution for many.

It seems everyone I talk to knows about the Mophie line of products but check out their Amazon rating (Juice Pack Air has a rating below 3) and you'll quickly realize that popular doesn't mean best. 

In fact the comments you read on Amazon are telling. Most complain about the device breaking within a couple of months. My own experience mirrored these comments. I had 2 Mophie juice pack airs that broken in under 3 months (1 broke during an overseas trip which cause many headaches).

What I looked for when choosing a battery pack case

I wanted a real brand that offered a verifiable MFI Apple certification (no cheap Chinese knock offs) 

An iPhone 5 has a 1440mAh battery and a 5s has a 1560mAh therefore I need a case that can fully charge my iphone at least once. You have to take into account the power loss due to design or power transfer as well (so my minimum mAh was 1700 and above).

Fast charging time for the battery and fastest charging time of my device.

The Winner is...

The best battery I have found is the Lenmar Meridien IPhone case.

Most cases offered battery capacities close to what they were advertising but Lenmar was the most accurate with its 2300mAh claim. It charged quickly itself and charged my iPhone (20%) within 15 minutes. 

It is a one of the most slim and svelte battery cases out there and the price is extremely competitive at about $US50 on Amazon (link).

That being said, the buttons are a little difficult to access.

The other issue I encountered was diminished cell phone reception (less bars). Every case that covers the entire phone suffers from this issue. In areas with strong reception, this wasn't an issue but my office is a shielded building and I get 1/2 bars at best without a case. With the Lenmar (and other full body cases), I sometimes experienced dropped calls or reception dropping to sub-1 bar performance. (I use Telus by the way).

Verdict

Overall this turned out to be a solid case with great performance and a few drawbacks. Having tested the Lenmar against the Mophie, uNu, Incipio and the Chinese knock-offs, I can say the Lenmar was the best. I was the slimmest and offered the best battery performance. 

If you want or need a battery case for your iPhone 5/5s, get this one.