Today Apple launched iPhone 4 in 17 more countries including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Many people lined up outside Apple stores to get their hands on the new device and most of the stores ran out of iPhone supplies within few hours of launch. However, with another successful launch for Apple, the iPhone 4 antenna debate also started all over again.

A consulting group in UK did some testing on the iPhone and concluded “The iPhone antenna performance is comparable with the performance of the other mobiles when handled or hands-free, though at the lower end of the range. All the mobiles suffer attenuation when handled. The so called “death grip” gives a substantial further drop in performance for the iPhone to the point where we could not quantify it using the same test method. Putting a rubber band around the iPhone, similar to but not the same as Apple’s plastic bumper, gave a significant improvement in performance.”

On the other hand, Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang’s test showed that iPhone provided better coverage in very low signal strength areas, even though the “death grip” problem resulted in signal drop sometimes. The newspaper laid the blame of previous reports on AT&T’s poor network coverage in US.

From Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that some of the new iPhone 4 owners “were almost disappointed to learn their mobiles were not succumbing to the “death grip” that cause signal problems and corporate embarrassment for Apple in the United States.”

Also Australian carrier Telstra has given iPhone 4 a “blue tick”, which means that the phone is suitable for users in regional and rural areas with low signal. However, Telstra recommends using a bumper in weaker signal areas.

Below we have added iPhone 4 launch video in Sydney. And I wish AT&T or Apple had that kind of service for iPhone 4 launch in US. Update: Hong Kong launch video added.