to get back to the phone, we have 3 or 4 at work, and they all have the problem, if you hold them tightly from the bottom. If you loosen the grip, the bars come back. I don't see it as a deal breaker, myself, because you can easily correct the problem by loosening the grip or putting a bumper around it. The deal breaker is the crappy network and paying through the nose to get half-ass signals isn't my idea of good service.
All these phones have problems, though. my EVO has light leakage and a little bit of "play" when you press on the screen (you wonder if dust is gonna get in there in the long run?) . the N1 had "touch" issues (you had to press buttons from the top half, the bottom half didn't register, which was annoying at times but not a big deal, and possibly antenna issues as well although I never noticed that myself but to be honest, didn't test thoroughly for that). The BB bold I loved so much also had signal issues as well, jumped from Edge to 3G erratically (which I initially blamed on poor signal but I understand RIM corrected the issue by releasing an update months later?).
Still, all these phones, including the iPhone4, are pretty impressive devices, the next best thing to having a computer in your pocket...
I think if the antenna issue on the iPhone 4 is so widespread, a good move for AAPL would be to give people a free bumper and send them on their way with a smile. The attitude that "hey you're holding it wrong" may not sit well with most people and makes AAPL come across as @ssholes.
