Well, mine is going back once I return from vacation and I'll put my 3GS back into service. While it's probably true that the iPhone 4 is dropping less calls, they didn't address the issue of reduced quality or speed, to the point where the other person on the call can't hear the iPhone 4 user. Technically not a dropped call, so their stats don't count it as a problem. If it only impacted data, I wouldn't mind too much. But again my thoughts drift back to the 911 call, and I don't want to be in a position where my natural way of holding the device costs valuable time when something very serious is happening.

They did talk about return rates being lower then the 3GS, but at this point every iPhone 4 owner is still in their valid return period, so it could go up. I'll be curious to see if they talk about these numbers more down the road.

The solution for now will be free bumpers, or some other cases. I'm sure some of the 3rd party case makers will enjoy that boost. I just don't have a ton of time to wait and see how the others will work though, as I fall out of the 30 day return period at the end of next week. I already know I don't want a bumper due to the other issues it introduces for me in my use of the device.

Some interesting things out of the Q&A:
Quote:
Q: After September 30th, is it because after then you expect people to buy a free case?
Steve: It’s so we can reevaluate this in September, I have no idea what solutions may come up.

If they have been working rapidly on an actual fix to the iSpot on the antenna band, September seems reasonable for a revision B of the hardware that may fix the issue. I'm betting they will talk more about it at the annual iPod release event around that time. Until they have an actual fix they can show, odds are they will remain silent and point to the free cases as an interm solution.

Quote:
Q from me: how does touching the corner with a single finger seem to cause this issue? It’s not just a grip, it can just happen by touching a single finger.
A from Bob: Your body is a pretty effective signal absorber. When you make contact with that phone, its performance in contact with you is less than its freespace performance. It’s a way to attenuate the signal by some amount.

Between this Q&A answer, and the earlier part of the event showing death grip impact (covering a ton of the phone) on other devices, it's clear they were still being a bit dodgy on the iSpot. I understand covering the device is a problem and that has never been the issue for me. It's been that one tiny spot placed in a area where I almost always touch the phone when using it.

The Q&A had some other tidbits, readable over here. It's good to see them be somewhat frank about certain things, and overall I'm pretty impressed with the response so far. While I'm returning my phone, it hasn't diminished my high praise of the company much. Apple still stands as one of the few public companies out there that does put the consumer first, and not wall street, enterprise, or others.