So manufacturer's should say things like "our product is only average"? It's what companies do - try to make their product as attractive as possible.
And there is a reception issue - it's just been blown out of proportion by the scaling of the signal bars. The first 4 bars represent 5.5dBm each and the 5th bar is a whopping 40dBm. So if you bridge the antenna and cause 20dBm signal drop, then you lose 3-4 bars. If the bars were spaced properly, then that same 20dBm drop would only show 1 or 2 bars, and poeple would never have noticed it.
What I have yet to see in the hater videos is an iPhone with 5 bars that still shows 5 bars when holding the antenna. This is very possible as the last bar represents a 40dBm range, and you could easily drop 20dBm in a high signal strength area and still show 5 bars.
From Anandtech:
From my day of testing, I've determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at -113 dBm (1 bar). Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all. I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dBm as I have with the iPhone 4, so it's readily apparent that the new baseband hardware is much more sensitive compared to what was in the 3GS. The difference is that reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use.
With my bumper case on, I made it further into dead zones than ever before, and into marginal areas that would always drop calls without any problems at all. It's amazing really to experience the difference in sensitivity the iPhone 4 brings compared to the 3GS, and issues from holding the phone aside, reception is absolutely definitely improved. I felt like I was going places no iPhone had ever gone before. There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS.
Anandtech still says Apple should put a coating on the antenna to eliminate the signal drop, but it's apparent the iPhone 4 has some damn good hardware inside.
Link...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/t...one-4-review/2