IPhone 4 owners appear to have lost their patience with Steve Jobs and co as an 'iPhone 4 contract cancellation' thread has popped up on Apple's forum.

Apple appears to have peeved off even the most loyal fanboys and girls with the dropped signal issue, as aside from sticking a bumper on the device, there is no real fix to the problem.

"I only had my phone 5 days by the time of the [Steve Jobs'] press conference. I then spoke to Orange and they said they do not offer a cancellation and if I want to change my phone I have to go via Apple," one user noted.

Another explained, "So I am basically stuck with a contract as they do not offer a 14 day return....I do not know where we stand especially as the longer we wait most will be past their 7-14 day return."

Meanwhile, other customers have taken a more novel approach to the situation.

"I bought my phone from Apple, [on an] 02 contract in the UK. I had the phone replaced and the second phone was faulty as well as [the] first. Returned the phone to Apple after the 14 days grace period and 02 did not mind at all that I returned the phone outside this period," another user noted.

"I'm now back to my 3G and a 1 month rolling contract. I will wait and see what happens to the iPhone 4 in September."

Meanwhile, Apple continues to bait its competitors by adding to its smartphone antenna performance page, in which it aims to 'educate' smartphone users about the reception on offer from rival handsets.

"The opposite of amplification, attenuation happens whenever a signal is obstructed. All antennas -- including television, radio, GPS, and cellular antennas -- can experience attenuation," Apple said on its site.

"And with most antennas, the density and composition of the human hand can cause attenuation to a greater degree than some other materials." Or so Apple says, anyway.

Smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Motorola Droid X are all allergic to good reception if Apple is to be believed.

Samsung appears to be carrying the fight to Apple, mocking the iPhone 4's reception issues with adverts plastered over newspapers and billboards.

One advert reads: "Samsung Galaxy S. Receiving a good reception", while another uses the image of a full bar of signal to promote the handset. The ingenious ads have raised a chuckle in the V3.co.uk office. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Galaxy S starts to flies off the shelves.

Instead of letting the Antennagate saga blow over, Apple seems to be intent on continuing to remind everyone that the iPhone is not capable of functioning as a calling device, a PR own goal if ever there was one.

On a side note, shouldn't Apple be busy fixing the design fault on its own device rather than pointing out minor niggles on devices that it didn't create?

And perhaps the time has come for V3.co.uk to revisit that 4 out of 5 star rating given to the iPhone 4. We're just saying...

26 Jul 2010