Samsung was showing off some interesting gadgets at CTIA in Orlando, Florida last week, but one thing that piqued our interest was the UbiCell. The Samsung UbiCell leverages Access Point Base Station technology, sometimes known as a femtocell, to improve mobile coverage in the home.

Little bigger that a WiFi access point, the Samsung UbiCell works by connecting to the mobile carrier’s network using user’s home broadband connection, creating a mini-cell in the user’s home. The beauty of the UbiCell is that the mobile handset does not need any special technology to use it, as the UbiCell creates a mini-cell of standard mobile coverage. Two versions of the Samsung UbiCell are planned, a CDMA version and a WCDMA version, the latter supporting HSDPA for high-speed data. To prevent unwanted guests from using the connection, up to four devices can be authorized to connect to the cell, with all others denied.

Unfortunately, a GPS unit prevents the Samsung UbiCell from operating in areas where the network operator does not have licensed spectrum, but the thought of expanding patchy network coverage in the home is surely attractive to many.