Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm writing this review partially because it is therapeutic but mostly to help others in my situation buy the right product for the job! Short story for those who don't want to read my novel... Wilson rocks ... Z-Boost not so much. If you're on the fringe of coverage, do yourself a favor and spend the extra 50 bucks for a superior quality product (Wilson Dual Band Pro). You won't be disappointed! The Z-boost (or what I like to call the Z-bust) was to be used at a cottage on the fringe of cellular coverage (1 bar standing on my roof and barely any 3G coverage). I purchased the z-boost along with the YX510 panel antennas thinking I had what I needed. I was pretty excited about finally getting 3G signal at the cottage! I spent a few hours hooking up the system (with no help from the lousy instructions). I had GPS coordinates of the nearest cell towers and exact directional info on where to point my antennas. I started with 100 ft of RG6 cable to give me some flexibility on locating the antenna and booster as I was aware of the challenges resulting from proximity oscillation between the two. Once installed, I powered up the iphone to see the results... The z-boost showed all systems go (with the very informative green light). From 10 feet away, I had negligible improvement in voice or data. Once I moved outside the 10 foot range, nothing at all. I masked my disappointment and climbed back on the roof and adjusted the antennas to the next closest tower (I had exact directional info for this one too). I climbed back down and repeated the testing process...no better. At this point, I was ready to throw everything back in the box but read the little slip in the box that said, "do not return this product...call z-boost installation support". I gave them a call. No answer but I left a VM. 24 hours...no response. I called again and finally got someone. The conversation did not start well as the patronizing little **** on the other end of the phone assumed I was a complete idiot. I tried to assure this individual that we could skip to the technical trouble shooting and it was OK to use the big words with me. The most helpful advice from Z-boost installation support was that my 100ft cable was too long and that I should spin the antenna 360 degrees. When I tried to explain that I recognized there would be some signal degradation due to cable length but it shouldn't be enough to render the system completely useless, he went into idiot mode again. I also needed to explain that 360 degrees represented a complete circle that ended at the same place! 10 minutes later,everything Z-boost was back in the box on its way to the Amazon returns center. For fun, I called up the Wilson help desk (who encourages presales calls to ensure you purchase the right configuration of system before it arrives). I learned more in 10 minutes on the phone with this guy than I had all day with Z-boost. The rep explained that when you're on the fringe of coverage with lots of geographical contour that an omni-directional antenna is much better. The signal bounces around and can come from many directions simultaneously. Unless you have unrestricted line of sight with a tower, directional antennas are not appropriate. He also explained the importance of power boost. Longer story somewhat shorter...I bought the Wilson Pro. This unit cost me $50 more than I had invested in Z-bust crap. Once installed (using the same 100 ft RG6 wire and same antenna location), I had immediate 4 bar cell coverage all through the house and amazing 4 mbps upload and download speeds where I had none before! It's an amazing product and cannot even be compared to Z-boost. I'm a happy 3G camper now but not a big Z-boost fan!