How do you hold your iPhone?

I have the signal problem with my iPhone 4G when holding the phone in my left hand (the same way I've held all my phones including 3 previous iPhones).

Whilst that's annoying, it's nowhere near as annoying as the "you're chosen carrier is no longer valid" message I get 15 - 20 times during my 40 mile car journey to work! I get this even when I can see signal bars, the o2 carrier name???? Never had this issue with any other iPhone or any other phone I've owned. I've not seen anyone else write about this yet, does anyone else get this?

I'm an Apple fan boy through and through but can't help feeling somewhat disappointed with Apples response so far.

Steve Jobs said that this is an issue with all mobile phones. Let me weigh in with some quantitative data: when I hold my 3GS without touching the lower half of the phone, my upload/download speeds (at one location) were 661/223 kbps. When I held it so that my hand was cupped around the bottom half of the back of the phone, they dropped to 221/6 kbps. That is a huge drop and proves it is not restricted to the iPhone 4.

The only difference with the iPhone 4 is that one can touch exactly the point which causes the most problem, whereas with the 3GS, it was more indistinct. But there is no more problem with the iPhone 4 than the 3GS.

People such as me who started with the iPhone classic will remember that the phone had a plastic cap on the bottom third back of the phone. The manual said that this is where the antennas were located and instructed users not to hold the phone with the hand touching or covering the area. This affected my subsequent holding habits of my 3GS and any other phone the I might use.

I hold it the wrong way, which puts my thumb conveniently near the volume buttons and silence switch. Hmm...

Any freaking way I want :)

I'm right handed so I hood the phone in my left hand and dial with my right hand. Not noticed any problem although I do find it slippery and have dropped if four times since Friday. Last time was the worst as I tried to "catch" it with my foot and only succeeded in kicking it about 12 foot along rough concrete. Luckily it's quite a tough phone.

The wrong way?

You your holding it the right way and apple are building the phones the wrong way yeah?

I tend to hold it with my finger pads (where the fingerprint is centered). I place them all around and naturally keep my palm away. So I do not experience the phenomena in everyday usage.

I got a bumper case on the first day with my iPhone 4 and the rubber edges are made for my holding style.

My new iPhone 4, in it's current state, is a piece of shit. Don't get me wrong, I love my phone, but I'd have better luck trying to make calls using a banana.

My daughter and I both waited in line for iPhone 4's for 15 hours at our local Apple Store. The "death grip" reception affects both of our phones within seconds. True, as a right-hander, I don't see my signal drop; but holding my phone in my left hand so I can surf the net takes mere seconds for the bars to fall faster than NASDAQ on a bad day.

I LOVE Apple. And I am absolutely stunned that they released this phone with such an obvious fatal signal flaw. Someone at Apple needs to wake the hell up and fix this -- like, YESTERDAY!!!!!

Crap.

I hold the phone where my thumb is in the center on the left side and three fingers on the right side, when I am receiving or making a call. When I am just browsing the net or playing games, it varies. I may hold the phone such that the left gap is bridged, but just blocking not tightly.