Hidden in Apple's Friday letter to iPhone 4 customers, in which they both apologize for the iPhone 4's reception issues and state that the issues are really just perception, based on faulty signal strength levels, is a little tidbit that shows they are taking things seriously (more or less): they have removed the restocking fee they normally take if you return an iPhone.

Here's what Apple said:

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

Normally Apple takes a 10 percent restocking fee for returned iPhones. That would amount to $19.90 for a returned 16GB iPhone 4, and $29.90 for a 32GB device.

However, Apple's statement seemed to remove this restriction, and it's been confirmed with AppleCare reps that the restocking fee has been suspended, at least for now. It may be restored when and if the iPhone's antenna issues are corrected.

We say "if" because Apple's letter implied the issue was because the signal strength indicator on the iPhone 4 was faulty, and thus, when the phone was gripped, users were surprised by the drop in signal levels. It is, in fact, true that gripping a phone will reduce the signal level, big bags of water that we are. Thus, Apple seemingly said, it's all about "perception."

Apple said it would supply a software patch to fix the issue, in a few weeks. What they didn't say is how fixing a signal level indicator on the phone would fix the dropped calls that have happened to some users when the phone is gripped and the gap between antennas on the left hand side of the iPhone 4 is bridged.

We'll see what really happens. In terms of a return, however, one thing to keep in mind is that for online orders, the 30 days starts when the device ships, not when you receive the device.