Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs has generally had an open door policy and has routinely responded directly to customers about Apple innovations. Recently, he responded to a customer who raised a question about the antenna issue (weak signal strength on the new Apple iPhone 4 when the phone was held in a specific way).

The response this customer received from Jobs was “Just avoid holding it in that way”. This may not have been the most politically correct response and as a result has been making a lot of news since the quote was made. When the iPhone was introduced to the world, a lot of emphasis was placed on the phone design and specifically, the aluminum rims which housed the Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, UMTS and GSM functionality. Essentially, the iPhone exterior would aid in network reception but some users have seen just the opposite.

Apple has released an official statement on the antenna problem, stating:

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

So there you have it, hold the iPhone in a different position or buy some bumpers.

Via: TechTree