Loads of useful info here so thanks v much. One complicating factor is that I work from an office that’s in a reception blackspot. Luckily I’m on O2, which has by far the best reception here, but I hear stories about iphones having crap reception and dropping connections irrespective of what network they’re on, in which case it wouldn’t be a good choice. Are iphones really that bad at being a phone? If so, which models, or is it all of them? Ta again.
The reception problem was almost entirely an American issue, due to the fact that the only carrier in the States at the time was AT&T, who were notorious for their shitty network. The ‘grip issue’ wasn’t unique to iPhones, all modern cellular phones exhibit it, because the TX antenna are at the base, to keep radiation away from the head, so if you hold a mobile in a tight grip, it reduces transmission power.
Couple that with a crappy network, and you have issues. That’s why Apple gave away free Belkin cases with the iP4.
Get a 4/4S, with a Belkin-type clear case, and a cheap pack of screen protectors, and, unless you actually drop it screen-first onto something sharp, it’s more than strong enough, as the dings on the corners of the case on mine will attest!
Reception on O2 on both my old 3G, 4, and 5, is perfectly fine, never had an issue, by comparison to the Nokia N95 I had before; great reviews from mags, etc, absolutely shockingly bad phone, in just about every respect.
The iPhone 3G that replaced it was a revelation, it had everything I wanted, built in, and it worked!