Right now Consumer Reports is being raked over the coals, and for good reason. There are experts that will testify that CR uses unscientific methods. Not to mention they go from lauding the iPhone to condemning it in a couple of days. The facts: The iPhone 4 has some antennae issues, but nothing serious. They did not look in the right places for the problems in testing, or did not feel the problems were serious. Solutions: Quick fix is to just put a bumper on it. Would be nice if Apple had given them away, but they tend to treat customers better than the competition, so I do not see this as more than a bimp issue. Most people get covers anyway.
Main fix is some software adjustments to improve performance, like what came out today. Future models may get a device inside to dampen the signal loss. There are other methods that can be used, but most of the problems are created by media frenzy and desires to create issues which will cause an uproar.