Today CNNMoney put out an article suggesting that the Consumer Reports “testing” had no data to support their claims.  According to Brian Klug, author of AnandTech’s Report “Apple fixed the problem” and “You can use the Wireless iPhone with no case without any concern for losing signal because of how it’s held”.

According to the CNN article:

AnandTech founder Anand Shimpi criticized the Consumer Reports study for failing to provide data to support its findings. Consumer Reports spokeswoman Melissa Valentino declined to offer the group’s test results, only saying that the Verizon iPhone and the AT&T iPhone performed “similarly” in tests.

The AnandTech study, however, showed that the Verizon iPhone performed roughly on par with its non-iPhone peers — and far better than the AT&T version — in terms of cell signal attenuation (a fancy word for the reception loss experienced when your hand covers the antenna).

Verizon’s device lost 16.5 decibels of signal reception when cupped tightly in the “death grip,” compared to 24.6 dB for the AT&T iPhone 4. The average signal loss of seven other smartphones that AnandTech tested was 14.4 dB.

When held naturally, the Verizon device fared worse than non-iPhones, but it still beat the AT&T iPhone by a fairly wide margin.

Apple was able to sell 1.7 million units before running out of phones.  Steve Jobs reported that this was Apple’s most successful product launch ever!

The Good News:

The iPhone 4g appears to be a fairly significant upgrade for 3G and 3Gs users with the following features:

• Front and Back Camera to support Video Calls and Chats as well as easier self pictures and videos.
• 5 Megapixel Camera with LED Flash
• HD Video Recording
• A larger Battery with up to 40% more talk time
• Multi-Tasking
• Sharper Resolutions on a 960×640 resolution display.
• Thinner than older models
• and more!

The Bad News:

• Apple ran out of units, and it looks like it may be a few weeks before there are more.
• Antenna Glitch – Holding the phone “wrong” causes signal loss unless you buy a case or bumper.  According to cNet, there may be a software fix to this problem out this week.

It looks like the iphone 4g is here to stay and is a considerable upgrade, if you can get your hands on one!

Apple has already signed up some big name advertisers including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios. Apple claims it has iAd commitments for 2010 totaling over $60 million, which represents almost 50 percent of the total forecasted US mobile ad spending for the second half of 2010.

This could be a big game changer and a major boost to iPhone, iPad, and iTouch application developers who now have another major source of revenue. Apple will share 60% of the advertising dollars with developers who joine the iAd Network.

Can Apple to for Apps Developers what Google Adsense did for Bloggers? Only time will tell, but the future looks good!

For more information on iAds and the iAd Network, visit http://www.iadtoday.com

Here is a Demo from Steve Jobs:

Part1:

Part2:

Features:

• Tethering enabled
• Striking 4.3-inch screen
• 1GHz processor
• 5-megapixel camera with flash
• $199 with 2-year t-mobile contract

Pros:

• Amazing screen
• Great media features
• Thin and light

Cons:

• Windows 6.5 with no current upgrade path
• A bit big

Take a look for yourself!

The Apple iPhone is still currently exclusive on the AT&T Wireless network in the US, but might be available on other networks starting as soon as June of 2010.

The new ad campaign debuted last weekend during the Masters gold tournament, telling people that AT&T can help them simultaneously talk on their phones and surf the Internet or go from room to room to watch recorded television.

AT&T wants people consumers to think of AT&T as a company that can improve their lives beyond phones. The new ads urge people to “Explore, try, do…”

Will this mark the end of the Mobile Phone Wars that probably cost both AT&T and Verizon hundreds of millions of dollars each? Is this AT&T moving to higher ground or waving the white flag?

It is clear with the network wars between Verizon and AT&T waging on, that Apple could stand to greatly increase iphone sales by ending their exclusivity with AT&T and being available on both AT&T and Verizon.

You will notice that even though Verizon is promoting their Droid smartphone, they are very careful not to bash the iphone, rather choosing to take pop-shots at the AT&T network. Verizon claims more 3G market coverage, while AT&T claims their 3G network is the fastest.

Pop-shots or not, Verizon remains the largest wireless provider in the United States, and having the iPhone available on both AT&T and Verizon would certainly be a “big win” for Apple!

So when exactly does AT&T’s iphone exclusivity agreement end? This has been an area of much speculation. Online reports seem to converge on a June 2010 end date with rumors that AT&T is negotiating to extend that agreement into 2011 or 2012. Wouldn’t you if you were AT&T?

Here is a good video interview from Bloomberg’s Primm Fox with Broadpoint AmTech’s Chief Apple Anysist from Novemeber discussing the AT&T exclusivity agreement and the subsidies that Apple gets from AT&T on the iPhone: