Apple's iPhone 4 Problem Is You: Outrage

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Consider for a moment, Apple's (AAPL) side of this iPhone 4 reception problem.

Not only does Apple have to suffer the indignity of AT&T's (T) lousy service. Now, Apple's revolutionary new iPhone 4 is being blamed for a glitch that is well out of its hands.

This so-called problem is you and your grubby hands.

A new black iPhone 4

Just as the Apple iPhone 4 went on sale Thursday, there came news of iPhone 4 problems. Numerous reports on knit-picky little blog sites like Gizmodo claimed that signal reception dropped off dramatically when people held the phone.

>>Video: iPhone 4 Problem Explained

The complaints are a total affront to Apple, which redesigned the iPhone and specifically the antenna in part so that it could compensate for the weak performance of AT&T's network. But let's be clear, this is not an antenna issue, it's a problem with you, the user.

Apple's response has been direct and simple.

"Avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band," Apple said in a widely-reported statement.

The message here: Stop holding the phone like you would if you were making a call. And if you have to hold the phone, do it right, you loser.

This isn't a hardware issue requiring a massive recall. This isn't a software fix. This is consumer education issue, and the quicker you learn the better.

Sure, there are those ugly covers and bumpers you can buy if you insist on holding the iPhone.

And you know what? You deserve those hideous bumpers. Because here's the thing -- you certainly don't deserve the iPhone 4.

--Written by Scott Moritz in New York.