Nice article in Slate about the problem with Apple’s press conference.
This has been a textbook case of a company damaging its brand with denial and condescension when a simple apology would have been so much better.
Regardless of all the hoopla in the tech/geek press/blogs, the iPhone is still in short supply (with multi-week shipping estimates). So, using sales as a metric - there does not seem to be a serious misstep.
“Thank you Steve, may I have another!”
One data point:
I saw a friend of mine yesterday with the new iPhone 4. I asked him about the “magic spot”, he told me that he had to hold the phone in a way that was not natural (to him) to make the signal drop. I tried it too and the way I normally hold a phone did not cause a signal problem. (We are both right-handed.) He had to firmly place his thumb in a very specific position to see the problem.
And I forgot to say: my friend has the new iPhone 4, his wife has the iPhone 3GS. They were both trying to look up the address of a nearby restaurant for us to favour with our patronage. His wife, with the previous iPhone model, didn’t have any reception, even wandering a few feet in every direction. My friend, with the iPhone 4, had perfect reception (5 bars - though we all know what 5 bars means: not much!)
The iPhone 4 was always going to sell well early on given its strong fan base so that's no surprise. For that matter the Droid X is also sold out. The problem for Apple is that it's going to be a long year ahead if it sticks to its current release strategy of one model a year. When it comes to touchscreen phones the first 3 iPhones were released without any serious competition. This time there are three phones: the Incredible, the Evo and the Droid X which are at least as good as the iPhone 4. And that's just for starters ; in the coming months there will probably be even better Android phones. So given all this competition the last thing Apple needed was for the iPhone to be dragged down by the antenna story especially given continuing concerns in the US about AT&T's network.
IMO if Apple simply hangs back for a full year it's going to be slaughtered by Android. It obviously needs to fix the antenna issue in future batches but it also needs a big story which will generate momentum and buzz. Ending AT&T exclusivity quickly would do it. Introducing iPhones with new designs and a lower price point could be interesting too.Anecdotal report: I have an iPhone 4. This is a little weird for me, as I am never, ever an early adopter for this kind of thing, and also it is the first Apple product I have ever owned. Basically I decided about two months before the iPhone 4 came out that I finally wanted to upgrade to a smartphone, and decided on the iPhone, and then figured I’d wait until the new model came out.
Anyway, I have not been able to make the signal completely drop out, no matter how I hold the case. This is possibly related to the fact that I live in a major metropolitan area with good cell coverage, of course. But, we were driving back from my hometown last night and I fully expected to drop coverage completely in a “dead zone” about 35 miles from here, because I have never, ever had cell coverage in that area. The iPhone maintained at least two bars the entire time. I was suitably impressed.
Anyway. Just anecdotal, of course, but I thought I’d give my report. 
It has been a very surreal experience for me to see news stories and Internet flame wars about this and realize that it’s all about a product that I personally own. Being an early adopter isn’t for the faint of heart, I guess.
I agree with Slate’s point of view in that article, but then I never expect anything but hubris from a Steve Jobs sales pitch. His stats about Apple products and comparisons to his competitors are always bullshit. I’m surprised he agreed to appear at all for this mini-conference. I was expecting just a quiet press release. But I’m not at all surprised that Jobs tried to blather on about his phone compared to others. There is no bigger blarney-master on earth than Steve in the Spotlight.
I too have a number of friends who say they do not see the antenna problem and think they get better performance than previous iPhones. (I don’t use an iPhone, so this is just second hand data.)
I did get a kick out of this - perhaps Apple needs to start including a manual like those - telling you how to hold the phone to avoid signal problems. Then the response to the problem could be the classic “RTFM”…
And here is the last word on what the Register calls the Judasphone. The site was designed by Ms. Annette Tenna. 
Oops - that’s Annabel Tenna. :smack:
In other interesting news, Google has stopped selling the Nexus One!