Nokia mocks iPhone 4 reception issues on blog

USERS complaining of dodgy phone reception on the new iPhone 4 is causing a stir on Aussie shores.

Nokia pokes fun at iPhone responding to users with signal issues by teaching them "how to hold your phone" / AP

IT HASN'T even been released in Australia yet but the iPhone 4 is already causing plenty of discussion, with some overseas users complaining that reception is reduced when their hand is on the external antenna.

Even Apple chief Steve Jobs has bought into the argument, saying people were holding the phone the "wrong way" in their left hand, then claiming there were no reception issues with the advanced phone.

That raised the ire of everyone from left-handed groups to the makers of covers designed to fix the problem and even keen do-it-yourselfers who found some carefully applied clear nail polish did the trick.

Now Finnish competitor Nokia has cheekily emerged with its own tutorial guide on how to hold a phone, describing four main grips as the Thumb and Finger, the Cup, the Balance and the Four Edge Grip.

"One of the main things we've found about the one billion-plus Nokia devices that are in use today is that when making a phone call, people generally tend to hold their phone like a . . . well, like a phone," the guide says.

"Of course, feel free to ignore all of the above because realistically, you're free to hold your Nokia device any way you like. And you won't suffer any signal loss. Cool, huh?"

Apple fans have quickly countered that while Nokia may be great at making phone hardware, it is way behind on operating systems and applications.

Oh well, intense competition is the key to innovation so maybe this will help us all, even mollydookers.