Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antennaperformance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas.
Not only does it lend globetrotters a hand, but Qualcomm claims the component carries a few other "world's first" features that allow manufacturers to build thinner products with improved antennaperformance, battery life and connection reliability.
It can also be removed and replaced with a new stub (if damaged) or with Ericsson's "high performanceantenna IAT-10" for an even stronger signal in problem reception areas.
"But Apple will need to ensure a change in material does not compromise the performance of the device, " he added, noting the infamous " antenna-gate" issue with the iPhone 4.