Its well known by Eris users that the visual bar meter is not always very accurate. You literally must have a PERFECT signal to get 4 bars. You can also have zero bars and still have perfectly functional 3G.
Of course holding the phone will slightly affect the signal, due to it naturally have to go through an object (your hand). And it can also fluctuate, especially indoors, depending on how thick the walls are, if your by a window, and such. However, never once have I seen an Eris completely lose signal or drastically lose signal because of the way you hold it.
Besides, even if the Eris had this problem, why is he justifying it by comparing their top-of-the-line device to a device that was not even top-of-the-line on RELEASE?
Steve is getting pretty good at BS.