iBook (Dual USB) AirPort antenna connector cable flaw

There appears to be a problem where the position of the screen affects the internal AirPort antenna's effectiveness, greatly reducing the iBook's range. Matt Rehder writes:

"Some of the new iBooks seem to have a flaw with the AirPort antenna that leads to very limited range. When the screen is opened up to 90 degrees the antenna can be pinched, basically killing all signal, however if the lid is only open at a 45 degree angle I can get 100% signal all over my house. I called Apple this morning, and after a long conversation they admitted that this could happen, and they are having me ship the iBook in to have the antenna replaced."

Update: Maybe the condition is not quite as rare as we originally thought. Judi Sohn writes:

"My husband and I both have iBooks (Dual USB) with the same configuration. My iBook has never lost the base station. The Control Strip rarely shows less than 4 green dots. My husband's iBook frequently gets 2 dots at best and would often lose the base station completely. He eventually found the same as Mr. Rehder, that tilting the screen at 45 degrees worked best. He holds the machine at a "V" shape on his lap to use it. Not very comfortable. It only took two phone calls to Apple and they quickly agreed to take my husband's iBook back for replacement. It helped that while I was on the phone with them, my husband's iBook (with clean system install and no 3rd party extensions loaded) was sitting inches away from mine and couldn't see the same base station that my iBook saw at full strength."

Update: Guy Kuo writes: "The iBook 'antenna' problem is not actually with the antenna itself but the signal cable as it travels through the hinge mechanism. There is very little slack in the thin antenna cable and it lies outside the protective bundle for the main LCD panel cable. This makes it doubly susceptible to impingement by the casing as the hinge opens. If the antenna cable is not routed just right during assembly, it can be caught in such a way that opening the LCD pulls and pinches on the antenna cable. The further the top opens, the worse the tension and pinch on the antenna cable becomes. Signal strength drops precipitously if this happens. With repeated episodes I would expect the cable to permanently deform or break. This problem can also occur when the bottom casing is replaced after upgrading the hard drive. One need not even involve the upper clamshell to cause a problem."