Apple this weekend continued its campaign to reveal that all smartphones are susceptible to the now infamous “death grip.” The company posted a video on its website that shows the Droid X going from four bars to no bars when held in such a way that the antenna is covered.
At a July 16 press conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did his best to quell a storm of bad press surrounding the iPhone 4. During his presentation, Jobs showed the Research In Motion (RIM) Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Samsung Omnia II supposedly producing the same loss of signal that the iPhone 4 experiences when the user makes skin contact with the lower left-hand corner of the device’s stainless steel exterior antenna.
In the end, Apple said it would make it right with consumers by giving away free cases, which appears to remedy the problem by mitigating contact with the skin. Users were also allowed to return the phone for a full refund without a restocking fee.
Apple has been continually adding to the videos on its site that show a variety of handsets, from nearly every major OEM, losing signal when held in a way that covers the phone’s antenna.
The Droid X is Motorola’s most recent high-profile Android-based smartphone for Verizon Wireless. The new phone features a massive 4.3-inch touchscreen, 720p video capture, Wi-Fi hot spot functionality, as well as a number of other high-end features.
