Take Your Phone Inside with Sprint’s Airave

By Geoff Duncan September 17, 2007

If you find that poor signal quality means you have to go outside to use your Sprint mobile phone, the company might have a solution for you—at least if you live in Denver or Indianapolis. The new Sprint Airave, built by Samsung, is basically a femtocell base station which extends the range of Sprint’s wireless network into a small area (say, a building) by tapping into a broadband Internet connection as a way to enhance in-building wireless phone service. When users go out of range of the Airave, calls switch back to Sprint’s wireless network. The Airave improved cellular reception over an area of about 5,000 square feet, and is capable of handling three wireless calls at once.

"With the Airave, Sprint is delivering an enhanced in-home coverage solution that’s simple to access, low in cost and compatible with any Sprint phone," said Sprint director of product management Ajit Bhatia, in a statement. "In addition, with unlimited in-home wireless calling, the Airave makes it even more convenient for customers to rely on their Sprint phones at home."

Sprint’s Airave is the second in-home service from a mobile carrier to emerge this year: the first was T-Mobile’s HotSpot@Home. T-Mobile’s offering requires specially-equipped phones, where Airave worked with any Sprint mobile phone (although Nextel handsets are not supported).

Airave is available today in Denver and Indianapolis for $49.99 (although rebates are initially available) with a monthly service fee of $15 for individuals and $30 for families. Sprint plans to roll out the service to other parts of the United States in 2008. The company is also eyeing a version of the Airave for small businesses that could handle a larger number of simultaneous calls.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Smart Home

What is IFTTT and how can you use it in your smart home?

A bunch of colorful shapes on a black background.

If you've spent any time shopping for smart home gadgets, you've probably noticed that many are built with support for Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. These are smart home platforms, and they let you access all your devices through a single app or interface. You've probably also noticed support for something known as IFTTT. But what exactly is IFTTT? And is it something you should be concerned with? Here's a closer look at the unique (and incredibly useful) software.
What is IFTTT?

IFTTT stands for, "if this, then that." It's terminology often used in programming, allowing software to chain together functions and perform certain tasks if other tasks are detected. For example, if the user inputs the incorrect password, then they'll be notified to try logging in again.

Smart Home

Nest Hub Max vs. Skylight Cal Max: Which is best for your home?

The Cal Max showing a picture while placed near a shelf.

The Nest Hub Max is one of the most premium smart displays available. Offering a vibrant screen, support for tons of apps, and the ability to sync with Google Home, it's a well-rounded and versatile smart display. The recently revealed Skylight Cal Max is a radically different sort of device -- but it's still contending for the same spot in your kitchen. Instead of offering tons of apps and services, it's a streamlined smart calendar that wants to simplify your life.

Trying to decide between these two premium displays? Here's a look at the Nest Hub Max and Skylight Cal Max to help you figure out which is best for your smart home.
Pricing and design

Smart Home

The Skylight Cal Max is a 27-inch smart calendar that might replace your smart display

The Skylight Cal Max installed on a wall.

Skylight, a company responsible for a variety of popular smart frames, is gearing up to launch the Cal Max -- a smart calendar that's a simplified version of a traditional smart display. You won't be watching Netflix on the massive 27-inch screen or tinkering with dozens of different apps, as it's aimed at providing families with a streamlined way to access their calendars, chores, meal planning, and photo albums without any of the clutter found on traditional smart displays.

The Cal Max is designed to help organize your home without introducing any unwanted distractions. You won't find a massive lineup of supported apps (as you typically see on smart displays). Instead, you can seamlessly sync your data from Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Cozi, and Yahoo, allowing family members to automatically push all their activities to the Cal Max for easy planning. It also doubles as a smart frame, letting you view photos sent by members of your family.