Stiftung Warentest is a German based consumer group. When you have an expensive electronic gadget that is not working the way it is supposed to, then it is just natural that consumer groups would step in for the purchasing masses; and there are a lot of people who bought the iPhone 4. In fact, it was reported that within just three days of sales, Apple sold about 1.7 million iPhone 4 smart phones all over the world. And it has been more than three weeks since then.

If the research that Stiftung Warentest is to be used as a basis, then that means there are at least a couple of million iPhone handsets that have antenna issues. This is because the problem is not really a faulty antenna, but with the actual phone design that fails to keep the antenna away from human touch. In fact, the antenna is so exposed that the signal strength drops to a ridiculously low number when touched.

To give a more logical comparison, most phones lose about 10% to 20% of their signal strength when touched in a regular way. Some can be made to choke out on network signal up to more than 50%. The Apple iPhone, even when touched just slightly on the exposed portion, will lose about 90% of the total signal strength.

With this, it is now wonder that people complain about dropped calls on the iPhone. The handset truly lacks any form of provisions or hardware features that would prevent users from accidentally touching the exposed portion. It is ironic how the iPhone 4 seems to be the iPhone killer that competitors have been waiting for. This is an otherwise impressive handset that has been beset by a major design flaw.

In the meanwhile, current iPhone 4 owners may choose to avail of Apple’s free bumper casing offers by downloading the official app.

It looks like Apple was not content with the number of mobile phone manufacturers they have dragged into the mess they are in. Last week, Apple held an ‘emergency conference’ to discuss the iPhone 4 antenna issue. While they were announcing that owners of the smart phone will be given free cases (those that already bought cases will be eligible for a refund instead), they also stated that the antenna issues that they are having exist in other mobile phones are well.

Apple is right about certain things, like the fact that the mobile phone antenna is prone to losing signals when they come into contact with the human hand –and the fact that human hands are not good amplifiers of mobile signals.

However, Apple’s allegation that this is a ‘challenge’ is not as true as one might think. Sure, the problem is there, but other mobile phone manufacturers have been doing great in finding solutions for it. Some mobile phone networks locate the antenna in areas of the handset that are not easily touched by the hand such as below the device or by keeping the antenna internally.

A recently uploaded video of the Nokia N97 smart phone, by Apple, shows the device with full signal strength. When a hand wraps around the device –as it is normally held, the signal drops down all the way to two bars. While significant, this has never been a serious issue. And the reason is because the N97 Mini can still make and complete voice calls even if a hand is touching the device –something that the iPhone 4 cannot do.

Also, Apple failed to mention the fact that the N97 Mini has been around for almost a year now and that the smart phone has never had a serious history of dropped calls complaints from existing users. This means that even if the device does have a few dropped calls every now and then, it does not happen often enough to be a concern.

With all the fuss with high end smart phones and newer technology, it is still nice to see some concept devices being shown to the public. Nokia’s very own Kinetic smart phone is one such handset and it comes with an incredibly novel concept.

The device is a simple looking touch screen smart phone. The front face looks like your average large screen handset with a slim form figure. The only stark difference is that the lower portion of the device comes with a slightly large bulk. This bulk is actually a closed compartment that houses an electromagnetic device that alters the weight distribution on the lower half of the mobile phone. From a prone, lying position, the kinetic handset can be made to stand upright.

The device will do this to inform users of an incoming call or text message. It is nifty and quirky, though in the end, still a concept design. As impressive as the technology may be, it is only applicable for times when users are either at home or working on an office desk. Users on the go would not be able to appreciate the extra feature. Still, it would be interesting if the technology is somehow applied to Nokia’s handsets.

Nokia has also made a public stand regarding the issue of antenna problems which was made quite controversial by Apple. In order to quell the rumors that Apple is spreading about mobile phone antennas (or antennae), Nokia has stated that all of their device’s antennas are fully tested and are well designed to work even when held normally.

Also, next week is the expected launch for the upcoming Nokia N8 Symbian^3 N-series handset. Vodafone UK has announced that they will start offering the device when it comes out next week while T-Mobile has already opened up pre-registrations on their official website.

There are plenty of design issues with mobile phones that certainly could use being addressed, and none of these universal concerns need to be urgently fixed.

Apple, however, certainly believes that they are not alone when it comes to suffering from an antenna issue. Steve Jobs stated that the issue is a challenge to the whole industry. What Apple seems to have forgotten is that with the literally thousands of unique handsets out there, only they are suffering from an antenna issue.

Sure, other mobile phones will lose a bar of signal, or even two, if it is held in a unique way. But none of these devices would actually drop user calls. The iPhone 4 however, is likely to drop a call if held in the left hand –a position where the exposed antenna strip is located. To state that the issue is an industry challenge is a long stretch, even for a company as Apple.

To further support their claim, Steve Jobs has also pointed out several mobile phones which are apparently suffering from antenna issues as well. Included in the presentation was the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Omnia 2 and an HTC Android smart phone.

However, none of these devices have a history of massive call drops similar to what the Apple iPhone 4 is suffering from. And the makers of the various phones are not too happy being dragged into the mess that Apple is already into.

Research in Motion, creators of the BlackBerry, is among the first to speak up about the matter. They released an open letter that directly addressed the issue of antenna performance and clearly stated that no BlackBerry handset requires the use of a casing to be used properly.

They are quite right, in fact, aside from the iPhone 4, there is hardly any other device that requires a casing to function right.

Apple has released a patch for iPhone users: version 4.0.1 of the iOS is meant to bring in some side features such as a color change for the Apple games center, and of course, the infamous signal bar edit that shows a better “measure” of signal strength in the area.

Steve Jobs and his team at Cupertino seems to believe that iPhone 4 users have the uncanny knack of always being in locations that have little to no signal which is why, they explain, that calls are bring dropped in the middle of a conversation.

However, further investigation and research into the situation has revealed that he problem is not based on having a faulty meter, but on the fact that Apple’s antenna was really badly designed in the first place. This means that the first users who complained about the issue were right, and that Apple was only trying to distract people from the real issue by bringing up the signal meter problems.

The big catch here is that this is one solution that no simple patch or software update would ever fix. No matter how Apple reprograms the software for getting a signal or reception, the fact remains that the antenna has a major exposed weak spot that severely lowers the value of the handset –after all, using a phone where most calls are likely to be dropped is not really something that smart phone owners want to have.

According to reports, many existing users are trying to find solutions for themselves –as Apple is indignant about not supplying users with free cases or bumpers. Some would simply buy a casing or a bumper (which, as stated, Apple should be giving out for free), other would opt to cover the exposed area with a strip of tape, a coating of nail polish and similar other substances.

One of the reasons why Apple’s issues with the iPhone 4 have escalated to such an extreme point is due to the fact that the company has decided to ignore the problem long enough.

It originally did not take long for early Apple iPhone 4 owners to realize that there was an issue with handset’s antenna. Reports about dropped calls started popping out within days of the launch. It only took a short time before the problem has been isolated by users to a design flaw in the antenna.

Of course, Apple could have taken a very important step at the point and come up with a special program to help out existing users. But since the issue was a hardware problem, Apple did not want to tackle the daunting task of repairing the over 1 million devices they had already manufactured. Now, the issue has gotten to a point where the Apple’s own stock value has taken a hit due to the lack of consumer support for the company.

In an effort to restore public belief in their products and to convince stock holders that Apple is still in charge of things, the Cupertino based company has called for an emergency conference to discuss the iPhone 4. While actually letting the world know what they plan to do would be a big step, we all know that certain solutions would never solve the problem.

Take a software based patch for instance. Since the design flaw was in the hardware side of things, it cannot be fixed by a software solution. There is no way that an app or a patch could ever reconfigure how an antenna is able to receive receptions and signals. It is easy to see how crucial this conference is for Apple, and in some ways, what they plan to do here might determine the fate of the company in the mobile phone industry.