HTC stated the problem of 'death grip' in HD7 is negligible

According to Computer Weekly, yesterday HTC released a statement as a response to YouTube videos, which show that the company's newly released HD7 smartphone also loses signal strength when is being gripped in a certain way. However, it looks like Taiwanese handset maker doesn't take it seriously:

"Quality in industrial design is of key importance to HTC. 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. 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. We test all of 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".

As you may remember, a similar problem was found in iPhone 4 this summer. The controversy was dubbed "Antennagate" and ended with the company's confession that "every phone has weak spots" and adding a special section to its site where the consumers can be informed of potential signal loss on the smartphone.

It is noticeable that then Jobs also said the many mobile handsets from different companies including HTC also experience similar antenna issues, but HTC Chief Financial Officer Hui-Meng Cheng quickly responded:

"The reception problems are certainly not common among smartphones. They apparently didn't give operators enough time to test the phone".