<div><div
style="float:right;margin-bottom:10px;"><a
 href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/&service=bit.ly"><img
style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" width="51" height="61" src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/" align="right"/></a><a
 class='feedflare' href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/&title=Consumer%20Reports:%20We%20Can&#8217;t%20Recommend%20iPhone%204&srcTitle=Mashable&srcUrl=http://mashable.com"><img
style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-digg-this/i/gbuzz-feed.png" align="right" /></a><a
 share_url="http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/" type="box_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/&src=sp" style="text-decoration: none;"><img
style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" src="http://mashable.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-digg-this/i/fb.jpg" align="right" /></a><a
href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/iphone-4-consumer-reports/&title=Consumer%20Reports:%20We%20Can&#8217;t%20Recommend%20iPhone%204&related=true&style=true"><img
style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" src="http://mashable.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-digg-this/i/diggme.png" align="right" /></a></div><div
style="float:left;margin-bottom:10px;"><img
src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/iphone-4-consumer-reports-260.jpg" alt="" title="iphone-4-consumer-reports-260" width="260" height="190" class="alignright size-full wp-image-327922" /></div><div
style="clear:both;"></div></div><br/>Consumer Reports performed lab tests on the <a
href="http://mashable.com/category/iphone">iPhone 4</a> and determined that the phone's <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/23/iphone-yellow-screen-tint/">alleged antenna problem</a> is completely legit. As a result, the organization declined to recommend the device, suggesting that consumers buy the older 3GS model instead.The steel bands that run around the phone's edges function as antennae, and Apple touted this as a selling point. Unfortunately, consumers <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4-technical-issues/">discovered a design flaw</a> immediately after the phone launched. When you cover up a small gap between two of the bands on the corner of the phone, you experience dramatic signal loss.As you'll see in the video below, Consumer Reports <a
href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2010/07/apple-iphone-4-antenna-issue-iphone4-problems-dropped-calls-lab-test-confirmed-problem-issues-signal-strength-att-network-gsm.html" >tested</a> AT&T carrier signals on the phone using lab equipment and determined that touching that spot on the phone can cause enough signal loss to drop a call. It also confirmed that this is not just an issue where the phone's software is <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/07/02/apple-admits-iphone-4-issue/">inaccurately reporting signal strength</a>. Previous <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/30/iphone-4-reception-indepth/">tests</a> have had similar results.Apple has struggled to get ahead of the story in the press, which has been peppered with news reports and editorials about the problem.First, <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4-reception-response/">Apple CEO Steve Jobs responded</a> to a frustrated customer by suggesting that he simply stop holding the phone that way. Apple has even posted job listings for <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/30/apple-hiring-iphone-antenna-engineers/">antenna engineers</a>, although it hasn't confirmed that those engineers will be working to resolve this specific issue.People began to realize that Apple probably knew about the flaw all along, because the <a
href="http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC597ZM/A?mco=MTU1OTU2NjA" >bumper cases</a> it launched alongside the phone do little except prevent skin contact with the problem spot. Although the bumpers don't make the iPhone 4 much bigger than its predecessor, they cost a not-inconsiderable $29.Is this flaw really a deal-breaker as Consumer Reports suggests, or do you feel that you can work around it?<hr><h2>Consumer Reports Video</hr></h2><hr></hr><center><object
id="flashObj" width="640" height="440" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param
name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" /><param
name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param
name="flashVars" value="videoId=111613310001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param
name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param
name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param
name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param
name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param
name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed
src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=111613310001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="640" height="440" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></center><p
style="margin-top:10px;"><i>For more <a
href="http://mashable.com/apple/">Apple</a> coverage:</i><ul
style="margin-top:0;"><li><a
href="http://twitter.com/mashableapple"  rel="nofollow">Follow Mashable Apple on Twitter</a></li><li><a
href="http://www.facebook.com/mashable.apple"  rel="nofollow">Become a Fan on Facebook</a></li><li><a
href="http://feeds.mashable.com/mashable/apple"  rel="nofollow">Subscribe to the Apple channel</a></li><li>Download our free apps for <a
href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable/id356202138?mt=8"  rel="nofollow">iPhone</a> and <a
href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable-for-ipad/id370097986?mt=8"  rel="nofollow">iPad</a></li></ul></p><div class="feedflare">
<a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:D7DqB2pKExk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?i=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:D7DqB2pKExk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?i=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?i=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/~ff/mashable/apple?a=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/mashable/apple?i=rF8pDviYnsY:gVX-vvHgLD0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a>
</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mashable/apple/~4/rF8pDviYnsY" height="1" width="1"/>