Apple has been sued by customers in at least three complaints related to the antenna problems with the handheld. "When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side -- an easy thing, especially for lefties -- the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal," contributor Mike Gikas said in a post on the Consumer Reports website.
"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."
Gikas recommended as a temporary measure that iPhone 4 owners cover the gap in the wraparound antenna with duct tape or another non-conductive material. Consumer Reports did give the iPhone 4 high scores for several of its features, including its battery life, display and video camera quality. However, it will not be classified as a "recommended device" until Apple delivers a permanent and free fix for the antenna problem, according to Gikas.