Yeah, I've got a low-end cheap LG/Verizon phone (VX5500 series) that I love, but it slid out of my shirt pocked and landed in the driveway once too often, so for $5 I bought it a nice custom-fitted condom that keeps it from sliding around so much.
I can't believe Apple didn't coat the metal in the first place. Probably an aesthetic consideration, and in this case, the aesthetics caused an awful lot of bad press and unhappy customers.
I'm not saying that it is not a problem that should have been addressed in R and D...just that since I would have a skin on it anyway regardless, the attenuation problem would not be a concern to me personally...