If Apple Inc. thought the worst was over for its new iPhone 4 and its sleek but problematic antenna, things just got worse.
Consumer Reports said Monday that -- after testing three different iPhone 4s -- it cannot recommend buying Apple's latest gadget. The magazine confirmed there is a reception problem with the antenna, which surrounds the phone, adding that the problem does not exist on earlier iPhone models or on other devices sold for AT&T's network.
Consumer Reports says it can not recommend the iPhone 4 based on its lab tests of the device in which the magazine found a reception problem with the smartphone.
But perhaps most painful for Apple -- and designophilic CEO Steve Jobs -- is the magazine's recommended fix for the problem: duct tape. Some gadget blogs have fixed the antenna issue by using a $29 bumper that Apple sells to protect the phone. Covering the gap in the antenna in the lower lefthand corner, where the iPhone 4 appears to lose signal when held, seems to remedy the problem.
Consumer Reports demonstrated in a video that covering the gap with duct tape works just as well.
