HTC acts to squash 'Antennagate' HD7 complaints

But signal strength could be affected in some situations, says handset maker

HTC has moved to quash complaints that one of its handsets has an antenna 'death grip' issue that affects signal strength.

The problem appears to be similar to the so-called 'Antennagate' furore earlier this year when it was revealed that the Apple iPhone 4 could lose signal when held in a certain way.

Apple managed to placate its customers, but the spectre of weak signals caused by faulty antenna design has not gone away.

A video of the HTC HD7 posted on YouTube two weeks ago by a group called Advanced Safety Devices appears to show the Windows Phone 7-based smartphone losing signal strength when held in a certain way.

HTC said in response to a request for comment from V3.co.uk that " quality in industrial design" is of key importance to the company, but admitted that signal strength could be degraded in some situations.

"To ensure the best possible signal strength, antennas are placed in the area least likely to be covered by a person's face or hands while the phone is in use," HTC said.

"However, it is inevitable that a phone's signal strength will weaken a little when covered in its entirety by a user's palm or fingers."

V3.co.uk did not experience any signal issues when conducting a review of the HTC HD7, and HTC suggested that that customers will not normally suffer any problems.

"We test all our phones extensively and are confident that, under normal circumstances, reception strength and performance will be more than sufficient for the operation of the phone when network coverage is also adequate," HTC said.