One degree to another does not excuse 'noticable worse than the rest'. You're right, large parts of the hate -was- unjustified. As an engineering student, I understand the necessity of tradeoffs, and acknowledge the advantages of the external antenna.
That doesn't mean they couldn't have done it differently, and still have a better antenna. For example, the CDMA iPhone4 (from the AnandTech review) actually has two CDMA antennae, positioned in such a way that the only way you can duplicate the 'death grip' is the cradle with both hands.
The launch phone ran into -significant- signal degradation in a common use case. This -should- have been anticipated better. And the whole "you're holding it wrong" thing did not help.
That doesn't mean they couldn't have done it differently, and still have a better antenna. For example, the CDMA iPhone4 (from the AnandTech review) actually has two CDMA antennae, positioned in such a way that the only way you can duplicate the 'death grip' is the cradle with both hands.
The launch phone ran into -significant- signal degradation in a common use case. This -should- have been anticipated better. And the whole "you're holding it wrong" thing did not help.