By Lora Kolodny

A start-up called Chamtech Enteprises has an answer to the problems of poor cellphone reception and other shortcomings of traditional antennas.

The company has developed a spray-on antenna that it says is more lightweight, energy-efficient and effective than the old-school version. (Where was this stuff when the iPhone 4 came out?)

The Sandy, Utah-based start-up's nanotechnology, unveiled last week at Google's inaugural Solve For X gathering, can be painted onto a tree, a wall, the ground or even the back of a soldier, enabling a more portable, lightweight way to get reception for a variety of uses.

The company has already patented critical aspects of its technology and begun to sell to government customers, whom it can't identify due to the sensitive nature of the technology's applications.