the first question everyone has asked about my new iPhone has been "does holding it ruin its reception?"

If I bridge the antennas on purpose, I can make reception suffer. And if I block the speaker with my finger, the sound quality sucks. This phone required no adjustment of my habits for it to work fully, and it's not just me:

If I hadn’t seen the headlines, I probably would not have noticed anything unusual. It’ll be at least a week of use before I can really tell.Matt Drance

Why have people have been so taken with this mudslinging? Every device with an antenna is susceptible to this problem; it's lame that the new iPhone has been singled out. Why don't you take a second to appreciate the new display? Take a few test shots with the best phone camera available today?

In my few days of experience so far, this phone is categorically an improvement over its predecessors. When the first iPhone was launched, with its bulbous aluminum and glass design, this is what I hoped it would evolve into.