If you are one of the lucky ones this week, then you're holding an iPhone 4 in your hand. Perhaps you've even it had it for a few days. So, it stands to reason that as more consumers get Apple's latest iteration of the iPhone in their hands, some of those screams of joy have turned into shouts of horror about problems that may be encountered with the iPhone 4.
 
Consumers are reporting a number of problems with the new iPhone on various forums and blogs, and some have even posted videos and photos about problems with the iPhone 4's new antenna design, Retina display, and claims that the iPhone 4 may not be as indestructible as Apple has led consumers to believe.

iPhone 4 New Antenna Design Problems

The iPhone 4's new antenna  is built into a metal rim that is split into two separate sections around the phone. Some consumers are claiming that this causes poor reception on the iPhone. Gizmodo has even published a report on the matter. The claims being made say that when you hold the iPhone 4 by its metal sides and you are in contact with both antennas, the reception gets worse or is dropped completely. The jury is still out on whether this is a hardware or software glitch, but we are leaning, with hope, towards the latter based on this information that surfaced at Boy Genius Report (BGR).

According to BGR, one user compared holding an iPhone 3G with iOS 4.0 loaded on it to one that still had iOS 3.0 on it. In the test, only the iPhone 3G loaded with iOS 4 reacted like the iPhone 4 does when held a certain way. This is a good indication that the problem could be related to the iOS 4.0 software.

Conspiracy theorists are pondering two interesting facts about the antenna. First, they point to the problems Steve Jobs encountered during his Keynote at WWDC 2010 in June with Wi-Fi and signal strength in general may have been related to these problems being reported by consumers. We believed that during the keynote demos Steve performed, he held the iPhone in his right hand and sure enough, at 40 minutes and four seconds into the keynote, you can see that he does indeed have the iPhone 4 in that hand and not in the left. Holding the iPhone 4 in the left hand seems to be the cause for the reception problems. The iPhone 3GS in the demo loaded the New York Times website, although only partially, while the iPhone 4 stalled.

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Second, Apple's bumpers are designed to separate you from the antennas. Which has everyone wondering if Apple was aware of the antenna issue and its fix is a $30 accessory.

iPhone 4 Retina Display Problems

There are a number of problems being reported about the new Retina display by consumers who have purchased an iPhone 4. The complaints vary from displays with yellow bands, spots, or other problems according to a report by Gizmodo.

There are claims that Apple support technicians are telling customers that the yellow discoloration on some iPhone 4 displays is a "Residue from Manufacturing" and that the coloration is disappearing over time because it hasn't completely cured yet. People are saying that after a few days this discoloration with fade away.

You can read about all this at BGR,  TUAW,  and Gizmodo.        

So, the yellowing might be much ado about nothing. Hopefully. The other issues being reported about the display are ones that probably will require a visit to the local Apple store Genius Bar.

iPhone 4 is Not Indestructible

We've all heard the claims that the iPhone 4 is a lot more durable than previous iterations. Engadget has reported that their iPhone 4 is capable of being scratched, even after only a few days of wear and tear. The scratches, while superficial and barely visible unless viewed a certain way. Without real testing the durablilty of the iPhone 4 ourselves, it's difficult to say how much wear and tear the device can take before looking like a brillo pad went to town on it. It does make us wonder if glass on the back was a good idea.

Even more interesting is the YouTube video below where iFixYouri.com does a simple drop test onto concrete four times with an initially working iPhone 4. However, by the fourth drop the iPhone isn't working any longer and the glass panel on the iPhone is completely shattered. So we've learned to not drop our iPhones.