Bloomberg is reporting that at least one Apple engineer warned the company that the iPhone 4’s bezel-as-antenna design was flawed:
Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may cause reception problems, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple’s behalf and asked not to be identified. A carrier partner also raised concerns about the antenna before the device’s June 24 release, according to another person familiar with the situation.
If this is indeed accurate, Apple has some serious explaining to do on Friday. Either way, I’m not sure I’d want to be the guy who brushed off Ruben Caballero right now.