While Apple has been trying to pass the buck on the iPhone 4 reception problems, no less a venerable institution than Consumer Reports itself has said that it has tested the iPhone 4.0 hardware and found it to blame for the iPhone 4.0 reception issues that have been widely reported. In a blog post entitled “Why Consumer Reports can’t recommend the iPhone 4”, and subtitled “Apple iPhone 4 design defect confirmed”, on the ConsumerReports.org website, Consumer Reports says “It’s official.”

In a letter posted on the Apple website on Friday, just as everyone was leaving for the long weekend (we’re sure the timing is just coincidence), Apple admits that there is a bonafide Apple iPhone 4 reception problem. Well, sort of. What they really say is that the problem isn’t with the reception, or even with a faulty antenna – it’s with saying you have more bars of reception than you really do. Hrrm… way to shift the blame over to AT and T!