After Steve Jobs' 'Antennagate' press conference, during which Apple pluckily stuck to its line that signal loss is "a fact of life for all smartphones" (read: not just ours), BlackBerry manufacturers RIM have hit back with a predictably stern press release.

You can read the full release here, but in summary: cobblers.

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More on the iPhone 4 'Antennagate':
Apple alerted to iPhone 4 antenna issue by engineer
iPhone 4 antenna woes: no free bumpers, says Apple
Apple deleting references to antenna issues
Apple search for antenna engineer after iPhone 4 issues
iPhone 4 is Apple's Vista, says Microsoft Exec
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After demonstrating the so-called 'death grip' - a particular way of holding the iPhone 4 which causes the signal to dip and calls to be dropped - on a BlackBerry Bold, RIM responded:

"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation."

Similar responses were to be found on the Crackberry message boards, with 86% of polled users unable to recreate the effects of the death grip as demonstrated by Jobs. Perhaps they're holding it wrong, too.

Does your phone suffer from the death grip? Let us know by e-mail or by tweeting us at @T3dotcom.