iPhone 4 plus Kin equals one great smartphone

Not happy with the iPhone 4 antenna woes? I've got a modest proposal that will not just please iPhone 4 users, but will help Microsoft's struggling cell phone strategy as well.

As you've no doubt heard by now, the iPhone 4 has serious problems with call and data signal strength due to a faulty antenna design. Hold the phone in the wrong way, and AT&T's already dismal service gets even worse, if such a thing is possible.

Apple has admitted the problem exists, saying in a statement:

"Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your Phone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases."

Many users are less than pleased with Apple's proposed solutions. I've got a much better one, and it will not only solve the problem, but also please Microsoft, and get Apple and Microsoft on better terms with one another.

The two companies should work together to tether the much-despised Kin to the iPhone 4. It's a perfect solution. The iPhone 4 does everything except get good reception, and the Kin gets good reception but does absolutely nothing else useful. Given that Microsoft is killing the Kin, and will have plenty of unsold devices gathering dust in warehouses, Apple can get them for dirt cheap --- well under the price of the $29 case Apple suggests people buy to solve the problem.