Jobs' solution to iPhone 4 signal issues: Don't hold it that way

"Doctor, my arm hurts when I do this." Response: "Well, don't do that then." That's pretty much the response from Apple in terms of the issues being reported today when the metal band (really, the antenna) around the iPhone 4's edge is grasped in certain ways.

It's true. Gizmodo reports that one of their readers, Aram, emailed Steve Jobs, and received one of his one sentence replies in return. Aram complained, rather nicely, about the iPhone 4's reception issues. Jobs' response:

"Just avoid holding it that way."

Arrogant, much?

Alternatively, enGadget received the following explanation from Apple:

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.

OK, we get their explanation. At least they admit an issue. We can even see there could be some degradation. However, dropping calls because you are holding the phone "wrong" is a little extreme.

Interestingly, since it's been reported that those $30 bumpers (above) that Apple sells eliminate the problem, we can see them soon being distributed gratis along with the iPhone 4.

How ironic. Often cases are blamed for reducing signal strength. In this case, they could be a plus. It's a game-changer, all right.