Smartphone makers join backlash against Jobs' iPhone 4 defence

As the issue (or non-issue) with Apple's iPhone 4 antennas rumbles on, so too does the outrage at Steve Jobs' attempt to drag all smartphone manufacturers into the mire with him.

In response to the by now well-documented 'just don't hold it like that' antenna problem, Jobs held a press conference earlier this month where he told the world that all mobile phones suffer from antenna problems similar to those seen in the iPhone 4 - and showed videos of several prominent smartphone models, with their signal bars disappearing as they were gripped by Apple testers.

Initially, three models were singled out by Jobs - the HTC Droid Eris, the Samsung Omnia II and the Blackberry Bold 9700; causing the manufacturers in question to howl in protest. RIM, makers of Blackberry, issued a strongly worded statement saying "Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable", while HTC chipped in with "Reception problems are certainly not common among smartphones", and Samsung added "Reception problems have not happened so far, and there is no room for such problems to happen in the future".

Meanwhile Nokia and Motorola, not initially targeted in Jobs' attack on his competitors, also stepped in with their own thoughts on the matter. Both took the opportunity to have a dig in response to the antenna issue, pointing out somewhat smugly in press releases and advertising material that their antennas work very nicely no matter how you hold their phones.

Now as a result, Nokia and Motorola have joined what the Register has dubbed 'Apple's Dropped Bar Hall of Shame'. The 'smartphone antenna performance' page on Apple's site - already home to the Blackberry Bold 9700 et al - now features videos of the Nokia N97 mini and the Motorolas Droid X with magical disappearing signal bars.