The Verizon iPhone is barely out and iLounge is already testing it with the death grip. It turns out that the Verizon iPhone seems to suffer from the same antenna issues that the AT&T iPhone experienced. iLounge reports that even on WiFi, web pages load much slower if you grip the phone with the "death grip." Does anyone hold the phone with the death grip when loading web pages?
As you can see in the video the number of bars does drop when the death grip is applied. Is this a big deal? Probably not because most phones have the same issue. AT&T iPhone users got over it as soon as Steve Jobs held a press conference to explain it.
iLounge even gives the iPhone the "death hug." While in landscape mode, applying both hands around the phone seems to cause the same kind of attenuation, even while using WiFi.