“Smartphone Antenna Performance” graced the headline of Apple’s page at apple.com/antenna. Below it, Apple says that not only their iPhone smartphone are susceptible to signal attenuation.

Apple made purported demonstrations of phones by rival companies such as RIM, HTC and Samsung, with video grabs showing a drop in signal strength on devices such as the iPhone 4, Bold 9700, Droid Eris and Omnia 2 when held in a particular manner.

What interested me most is Apple’s illustration of signal attenuation on the Omnia 2 with the ‘death grip’. I own an Omnia 2 myself, and attempted to replicate the claimed result of attenuation “from 4 bars to 1 bar”.

I tried holding it in my right hand, then my left, then cupped it in my palm, and even in both my palms. The worst extent of the degradation effect was a drop from 5 bars to 4. But that only happened once, and didn’t happen again when I reattempted.

After that, I experimented with a borrowed BlackBerry Bold 9700. I could fairly easily achieve the attenuation effect by cupping the bottom portion in my palm, but it didn’t drop from 5 bars to 1 bar – rather, just 5 bars to 4.

While I do agree that holding a phone in a manner that obstructs the internal cellular antenna would cause attenuation, no other phones portray a similar extent of degradation as the iPhone 4 would. Also, I had to hold my tested devices in very awkward and highly deliberate manners in order to achieve the effect. As you can see demonstrated in this video, you only need to hold the iPhone 4 casually in order to achieve the effect.

In response to a question at an Apple press conference about whether anything could have been done to avoid its antenna issues with the iPhone 4, Steve Jobs took the opportunity to say that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” helps, but that “no one’s going to buy that”. He went on to call them “Hummers”.

Apple even took a step further and offered tech journalists a peek in their advanced antenna design and test labs (also known as the “black lab”). You can read Engadget editor Joshua Tolopsky’s recount.

What seems like a counter-measure to Apple’s confidence is an announcement that free bumper cases are being given away with every new iPhone. If the iPhone 4 really is free of flaws, why the need for free cases?

Unimpressed, Nokia has slammed Apple with a directed statement that addresses iPhone 4′s flaws.

“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.

Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.

In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”

Like adding fuel to the fire, RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have also come forward with a strong-worded statement (as usual).

“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.

RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage.

One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”

Here is what’s more interesting: blogger Erica Sadun reported on the TUAW blog that the new iOS 4.0.1 update that Apple claims will fix the signal issue simply doesn’t. And then Engadget quoted Apple Senior VP of iOS Scott Forstall that the antenna issue isn’t something that can be fixed by software.

So, after investing over $100 million in their advanced antenna design and test labs, Apple brings you their most revolutionary feature ever: convenient one-touch cellular connectivity toggle. Just touch to disconnect!

Also: The evolution of Steve Jobs.

Not sent from an iPhone