Steve Jobs on iPhone reception problems: 'Just avoid holding it in that way'

Yesterday, as Apple’s new iPhone 4 shipped around the world, we reported that early adopters have noticed a couple of worrying faults with their new gadgets.

The yucky yellow blotches, bands, and smudges that appeared on some displays will apparently disappear in a couple of days. That’s according to someone who claims to have been involved in pitching the Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 bonding agent (catchy name) to Apple.

Writing on the AppleInsider forums, the user said, “Apple is shipping these products so quickly that the evaporation process is not complete. However, after one or two days of use, especially with the screen on, will complete the evaporation process and the yellow 'blotches' will disappear."

As for the slightly more stressful issue of iPhone 4s getting their mobile reception and wi-fi speeds dramatically cut when the user's hand covers the antenna (i.e. you hold it like a mobile phone), Apple has a solution.

In traditional, curt Steve Jobs fashion, the CEO of Apple has responded to the issue via email. “Non issue”, says Jobs, “Just avoid holding it in that way.”

Predictably, the internet has already found bundles of images of Steve Jobs, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev, and promotional lifestyle actors all giving the iPhone 4 the death grip. A PR fail, if ever there was one.

Jobs then followed it up with a slightly more detailed, and less ridiculous response. “Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance”, says the turtle-necked CEO. “This is a fact of life for every wireless phone.”

His practical solution: “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.”

Matt Schlicht from UStream tweeted a pretty sensible idea of how Apple missed such a glaring flaw. Remember when Apple lost the iPhone 4 earlier this year? To disguise it from tech blogs and bar room finders, engineer Gray Powell was keeping the test unit in a 3GS-styled case.

“I bet Apple didn't realize the iPhone 4's reception issues because they did field testing with a 3GS lookalike case. Covert fail x2?”

The sneaky case was all well and good to keep the prototype out of view from the gadget paparazzi, but as they wouldn’t be touching the device itself, they might not have noticed the problem until it was too late.

You can, by following Steve Job’s advice, either quit holding the iPhone 4 that way or buy a case so your digits don’t wreck your reception. Apple’s $30 bumper is starting to sound a little sinister right now.

Wired reader Ryan Rhea has found a slightly cheaper way to eradicate the issue, though: black tape. By slapping some nerd-glasses fixing electrician's tape along the problem area, Rhea managed to stop the iPhone losing reception when gripped.

Or you can take your phone back to the shop and demand a replacement or refund.