First they said they had to test the iPhone 4. Then they published a highly-linked post about the fact that they couldn’t recommend it because of its antenna woes.

Now Consumer Reports says that the Bumper is what you need. Forget the duct tape.

“With the Bumper fitted, we repeated the test procedure, placing a finger on the Bumper at the point at which it covers the gap below. The result was a negligible drop in signal strength—so slight that it would not have any effect, in our judgment.

The Bumper solves the signal-strength problem. So does a piece of duct tape, as we reported earlier, or just being careful how you hold the phone. But these options all put the onus on consumers to solve or pay for a fix. We’re still calling on Apple to provide an acceptable free solution to the iPhone 4’s signal-loss problem.”

Now imagine this: CR recommends Bumpers. Apple tomorrow announces they’re going to give them away for free, 1 per customer. Everyone’s happy.