Haven't tried chip antennas. I bought the wire antennas because I wanted good range but still keep the power consumption low so the higher power versions were not an option.
Current draw is about 50Ma regardless if its transmitting or not.
It also has decent coverage of the house. Signal is alittle weak on one side of the house because of a metal wall.
I was concerned that the range measurements were optimistic but it does that and more with ease
The signal is about -70 at 150feet. A bit above the threshold of receive-ability.