The reason that human touch interferes with cellular reception is because when people cover the antenna with their hand, the electromagnetic energy being radiated from the antenna turns into heat, which degrades the antenna's performance. Just as a glass containing water has a different pitch than an empty one, covering the antenna could change the frequency of it just enough to disrupt the

reception as well.

But while engineers and designers agree that the new design makes the iPhone more susceptible to antennareception problems, Spencer Webb, president of AntennaSys, which designs antennas says that all handheld device have this problem, and people just need to learn how to hold their devices properly to avoid it.

According to Mr. Webb, that means thumb on the left side, middle finger on the right side, and index finger on the top back to hold it in place. 'Everybody needs to learn how to do the Vulcan iPhone

pinch,' he said, adding that the way Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds the iPhone makes a lot of sense.

A day after Apple's new iPhone 4 went on sale, reports are mounting about poor cellular reception when people cover part of the phone's stainless steel frame with their hands. That's a problem because, for the first time, the antennas were built into the frame, bringing them in closer contact with the human touch than in past iPhones when the antennas were insulated behind the plastic back cover.