HTC, Research in Motion, Samsung and Nokia have been drawn in to Apple’s  “Antenna-gate” after Steve Jobs claimed that antenna problems were not unique to the iPhone, and BlackBerry Storm 3 gets real.

During Apple's recent press conference CEO Steve Jobs provided evidence that iPhone 4 customers are happier than ever, specifically indicating that return rates are lower for the iPhone 4 than they were for the iPhone 3GS. He also claimed other phones were having the same issues.

However, HTC has said that support calls for the Droid Eris were only related to reception issues 0.016% of the time, compared with 0.55% for iPhone 4. RIM provided no data, but said that getting drawn into Apple's "self-made debacle is unacceptable."

As well, Apple's problem could be considered more severe due the external antenna and the minimal amount of pressure required to interfere with it.

So, are free bumper cases and a dose of charisma enough to solve Apple's iPhone 4 “Antenna-gate”? The jury is still out as to whether this will let Apple get past the PR debacle.

Specs for BlackBerry Storm 3

The third iteration of Research in Motion’s touchscreen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm, looks like it is getting a new user interface.

It is not news that the BlackBerry OS 6.0 will bring kinetic scrolling and multi-touch across BlackBerry smartphones, but rumour has it that for the Storm 3 there will be minor changes from the features and innards of Storm 2.

“Odin Refresh”, the working title for the prototype, was listed during an industry presentation as having a webkit browser, 512MB RAM with up to 32GB expandable storage, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi 802.11n, and a 3G Mobile Hotspot.

The 3G Mobile Hotspot is similar to the Android 2.2 Froyo update that delivers a Wi-Fi HotSpot feature.  As with other devices, then, Storm 3 could handle 3G-to-Wi-Fi conversion.

Expect more RAM and better response with the SurePress screen, as well as video recording, though  HD is not a certainty, despite the fact that both Android and the iOS can handle 720p HD video recording.

Release date? It’s a guessing game, but before the end of 2010 seems likely.