Consumer Report's Take On iPhone 4 Antenna Issue

Earlier today, Consumer Reports surprised many people with a public announcement effectively withdrawing their recommendation of the iPhone 4 to potential Apple smartphone buyers. The support was yanked given the lingering reception problems and so-called death grip that continues to frustrate many. Apple mentioned previously that they are in the middle of preparing a software update to attack what many consider a hardware problem.

Consumers Reports commented on their electronics blog indicating that it tested three iPhone 4s that were acquired at three different Apple retail outlets in the New York area. All of the tests were performed inside a controlled environment of a radio frequency isolation chamber. "In this room," the publication notes, "which is impervious to outside radio signals, our test engineers connected the phones to our base-station emulator, a device that simulates carrier cell towers. We also tested several other AT&T phones the same way, including the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. None of those phones had the signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4." The company took a further jab at Apple by saying:

Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4's signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that 'mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength.' The tests also indicate that AT&T's network might not be the primary suspect in the iPhone 4's much-reported signal woes.

Before, Consumer Reports was an avid suporter for the iPhone 4 claiming that there were no signal loss issues during the first round of testing and that there was no good reason NOT to buy an iPhone 4. This message seems to have changed in a dramatic fashion. "Apple needs to come up with a permanent -- and free -- fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4." Consumer reports however did propose one possible way of mitigating the epic reception trouble by using a wad of duct tape to fill the antenna gap located on the bottom left side of the device, stating that "It works" although "it may be not be pretty."

So what do you guys think? Are you still getting your iPhone 4? If you are an iPhone 4 owner, are you experiencing any antenna issues? Let us know by sharing your thoughts below!