You could argue that the iPhone 4 antenna debacle was unfortunate, accidental, and that Apple probably brought it on themselves by not responding to customer and media complaints quickly enough. The story got way out of hand, and when 24/7 cable news channels began to make headline hay out of it, you just know Apple’s competitors were laughing loudly and slapping themselves on their backs.

I also wonder about the sources behind some of the reports that Apple declared false, and it smells.

Take Bloomberg News, which claimed that Steve Jobs was warned by Ruben Caballero, his chief antenna engineer, about a potentially serious fallout because of the design choices made for the iPhone 4, but ignored them. Jobs says that story was untrue.

On Thursday, The New York Times alleged that Apple was going to install an internal bumper to address the issue. Again, Jobs said it just wasn’t so. But where did the “newspaper of record” get this story? Where’s their inside source?

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When someone predicted Apple would release that highly-anticipated fixer-upper Thursday for at least some antenna-related issues on the latest and greatest iPhone, I was skeptical. How could anyone outside of Apple possibly know. Yet a Greek-language site, iPhone Hellas, had it right on, all the way.

Now unless I’m missing something, the only advertised fix is for the overly-optimistic cellular signal strength display. Before, you might have a marginal signal and see five bars. No doubt AT&T used that hyped reading as evidence in its long-ago promise of more bars. Of course they also promised fewer dropped calls, a claim that most everyone outside of the company and its ad agency knows is a total fantasy.

With lowered expectations, I updated an iPhone 3GS to 4.0.1. As usual, the process was uneventful. I was actually otherwise occupied doing post-production work on my radio shows, so I really didn’t pay much attention to the progress displays in iTunes. I do know that, typical of previous iOS updates, Apple doesn’t just send down a patch. You get the entire operating system each and every time, a download weighing in at hundreds of megabytes. Pity the customer with a slow broadband connection or, perish forbid, dial-up.

In addition to promising a more accurate signal strength display, the sizes of the bars representing poorer signals are larger, to make it more obvious when you’re in an area where you’re apt to drop calls.

During my travels across the Phoenix area after the update, I noticed that I was getting between three and five bars in areas where it was always stuck at the highest signal reading. One locale in the western part of the city displayed but a single bar, compared to three previously. I also encountered the only dropped call of the day there, which is to be expected. But a redial delivered a clean connection despite the marginal reading.

However, the real issue is whether Apple was, a day before its fateful press conference on the subject, capable of delivering an update that would resolve the so-called “Antennagate” dilemma. There, I said the “A” word, but it does have a ring to it.

Without an iPhone 4 to test, I contacted a friend, a Linux systems administrator who lives in Houston, and was one of the early adopters.

His experience is summed up in a short paragraph:

“The iOS 4.0.1 update seems to have made the iPhone 4 more honest about the signal it is now reporting. Since I received the phone on launch day, the phone has always reported 4-5 bars in my apartment, where I’ve had signal issues for all my phones, including those on Verizon’s network. With the new iOS 4.0.1 update the phone now reports 2-4 bars on 3G as it probably should, based on my previous experience over a 3 year period.”

Alas, the “Vulcan Death Grip” effect still exists for him. When he holds his iPhone in the prescribed fashion, the signal strength drops to but a single bar. He sent a screenshot, but I don’t think it’s necessary; you know the score.

My friend’s conclusion: “While I think this move was a good one on Apple’s part to be more honest about AT&T’s fairly poor network (as far as being oversaturated), I believe the more important fixes they should release are ones to address the proximity sensor issue, and the horrendous Bluetooth problems introduced with iOS 4.”

Most revealing is a piece of information he provided in an earlier communication, which appears to go a long way towards refuting the impression conveyed in that controversial Consumer Reports article that the death grip problem is largely confined to the newest iPhone.

“On a footnote, I have a friend who blogs for Android devices, and he received a Samsung Vibrate that experiences issues with a ‘death grip’ down to 1 bar when he holds it from the back. So it doesn’t appear to be isolated to iPhone.”

Of course that conclusion is nothing unique. Other bloggers have already demonstrated that you can cause similar symptoms on other smartphones one way or the other. The vulnerable region will vary, but it will always occur somewhere around the base of the unit, where the antennas are typically installed.

However the media reacts to Apple’s press conference, it’s a sure thing that loads of people will be far more aware of the vagaries of cell phone reception and how the position of your hand and even moving your phone a few inches can seriously alter your ability to make and receive phone calls, particularly in marginal signal areas. And forget about an elevator.

It would be nice if you could go most anywhere and be assured of getting a genuine five bars all the time. It would be just as nice for mobile handsets to deliver audio quality on a par with an ordinary landline phone. But these two wishes are just pipe dreams right now. Cellular technology is still far too imperfect when it comes to the carriers and the people who make the phones. That’s a significant lesson we’ve all learned from Antennagate.

In the meantime, now that Apple has confirmed other smartphones suffer from the same attenuation issue when touched in a specific way, will Consumer Reports consider retesting and withdrawing its harsh criticisms about the iPhone’s performance. I’m not betting on it.

So get your iPhone 4 bumpers while you can — Apple doesn’t have enough to go around, and I’m not enamored of many of the third-party cases that are available.

As all the bad news about Apple and the alleged iPhone 4 antenna problem piles up, I fully expect that the company’s competitors are cheering loudly, not to mention people who already prefer other mobile platforms.

And I am loathe to refer to this episode as Antennagate, as some have done.

Certainly, Apple’s stellar success with the iPhone, iPod and now the iPad has helped put the company well over the top when it comes to stock price and sales. Even though it’s still extremely hard to get ahold of an iPhone 4 at any dealer, even an Apple Store, you have to agree with me that sales will be impacted to some degree because of this problem. It’s not as if the momentum will suddenly stop, though.

On the other hand, it’s a sure thing some members of the tech media and even some industry analysts are taking advantage of the situation to feed the flames. You’ve already read estimates of the hundreds of millions of dollars Apple stands to lose if they decide to recall the iPhones for repair or replacement. There are also some unconfirmed reports that Apple has already begun to affix a matte coating to the naked antenna on newly-manufacturered iPhones to fix this purported defect, but don’t take that seriously. At least not yet.

The media rabble rousers are having a ball demanding that iPhone 4 recall. An example is CNET’s Molly Wood, who, based on my personal experience working with her some years back, never met a fact that she couldn’t mangle. Her grasp of complicated technical issues has always been questionable, and I dare say she’s utterly out of her depth here. I mean, if Apple were to issue a recall, what would it accomplish? Would they replace all iPhones with units that had a special coating applied to the antennas? Or toss them into the trash? What’s the end game here? I’m wondering.

More to the point, the real question is, other than people who have tried hard to hold their iPhones the wrong way, how many people are really suffering from this alleged defect? If there are truly dropped calls when signal strength dips, would those calls have succeeded on previous iPhones, or other smartphones? This clearly needs careful testing, but Consumer Reports, who now says the iPhone 4 isn’t recommended, doesn’t seem to be willing to perform those trials, free of junk science and bias.

I’ve already provided a link in yesterday’s column to the comments from an antenna expert who disputes the methodology in CR’s tests. My problem is that, even though it has been confirmed that other smartphones suffer from some degree of signal loss when you touch the region where the antennas are placed, CR couldn’t duplicate such symptoms.

Now I suppose I could rag on CR for being unfairly prejudiced against Apple, and suggest that the particular test they devised was designed to put the iPhone 4 in its worst light compared to any other gadget. Maybe so, but I’m not the antenna expert, and I don’t play one on TV. I rely on others to make that determination.

Besides, even if it is shown that CR is utterly wrong, would they go back to the drawing board and redo the tests properly? CR rarely backtracks on published test results. If they are wrong, Apple would probably have to hit them hard with a pointed statement, QuickTime videos of demonstrations showing contrary results, and possibly the threat of legal action.

But drawing too much attention to one’s critics often gives them greater credibility, regardless of the truth or falsity of their claims. Suddenly it becomes a debate, rather than a question of fact versus fallacy, and actually winning the resulting PR wars may be difficult, if not impossible.

Whatever Apple decides, would a new press release make a difference? They’ve already asserted that the extent of the signal loss is inflated because you’re seeing too many bars. If you had two bars and it dropped back to one, it wouldn’t be so big a deal. At the same time, columnist Daniel Eran Dilger, who guests this weekend on a segment of The Tech Night Owl LIVE, says that the antenna controversy is very much serving the interests of Apple’s competitors, rather than resolve the honest concerns of people who simply want a reliable smartphone.

I even thought that the whole brouhaha would soon blow over, only to hear a CNN report while driving home this afternoon where the entire issue was resurrected. Every major newspaper has also weighed in.

Of course, all or most of the lingering questions about Apple’s strategy going forward should be answered Friday morning, during that special press event scheduled for 10:00 Pacific time at the company’s Cupertino, CA headquarters. I’m not going to make any predictions at this point, other than to repeat my skepticism about a possible recall. But the possibility of affixing some sort of permanent coating on the bare antenna might end up being the best idea of all, if there’s no viable software solution of course, other than cosmetic.

The problem with a massive oil spill in the Gulf remains unresolved, there’s the usual partisan political bickering (make that shouting), and the economy is still in the toilet, more or less. You just know that actor/director Mel Gibson is one bigoted and abusive maniac on the basis of those widely-circulated telephone recordings.

Considering all the problems that affect the world to a greater or lesser degree, I’m reasonably certain the controversial iPhone 4 antenna, and the Consumer Reports refusal to recommend the product, can’t survive very long in the headlines. The 24/7 cable news stations have already begun to move on to other topics, leaving the tech bloggers and a few tech publications to argue over whether Apple should recall the new iPhone, rush out a fix, or just sit back and wait for the outcry to blow over.

It’s a sure thing that the outcome really isn’t certain, because it all depends on whether Apple’s “fix,” changing the numbers of bars displayed in marginal signal conditions, will be sufficient to calm the restless masses. If you believe Apple, the iPhone 4 works better in regions where you might not even get much of a connection on other mobile handsets. Any hand position that covers an antenna on such a device might be sufficient to reduce sensitivity.

What is most curious is that this issue went undiscovered all these years, as tens of millions of cell phones were sold around the world. It took the arrival of the iPhone 4, and Apple’s bold claim of superior sensitivity, to cause customers to put it to the test.

Now published reports do clearly demonstrate that the iPhone 4 was never the only device to adhere to the laws of physics. The question is, of course, whether the antenna should have lain bare or been shielded on the new case. Remember that in the old days, most mobile devices had pull-out or fixed antennas placed at the top of the units.

Then the antenna was clearly visible, and easy to touch with or without a secret handshake.

However, The FCC and other agencies began to test mobile handsets for potentially dangerous radiation emissions. The jury is still out over whether too much cell phone radiation might cause harm, but there’s no sense not being cautious. So today’s mobile devices stick the antennas at the bottom of the unit, as far away from your ear as possible.

Then again, I see some people placing their handsets to their heads, and, when talking, moving the bottom of the unit (the part that contains the antenna mind you) up to their mouths, not realizing that the built-in mics generally work fine without this clumsy maneuver. Besides, if you’re driving, you really need a hands-free system of some sort, such as a special headset or car-based interface. Many states here in the U.S. otherwise bar use of a mobile phone, and I can understand why. I think some people seem utterly glued to their cell phones.

In any case, I don’t know for certain whether the iPhone is more sensitive to special antenna handling than other gadgets, although it may well be that Apple erred in their placement.

I don’t know the engineering issues, but Apple might have fared better to put the unit’s antennas at the rear, although I dare say someone, somewhere, would have devised a secret handshake that would trigger loss of reception.

In any case, Apple still remains silent on the issue in the wake of the CR story, which is so many of us continue to write articles on the subject. They have also reportedly begun to delete threads from their support forums that discuss that somewhat unfavorable CR review. I say “somewhat,” because the magazine otherwise seems to like the product, and they don’t really determine whether this alleged shortcoming in antenna placement truly makes the phone less useful in the real world, past the carefully staged tests.

Indeed, a published report, quoting an antenna specialist, asserts that CR improperly tested the iPhone 4. So why am I not surprised?

Also remember that the iPhone 4 has been out less than a month, so anyone who is dissatisfied can simply return it for a refund. I gather that restocking fees may not even apply, particularly if the units are brought back due to some sort of perceived product defect.

Going forward, if Apple’s software fix doesn’t isn’t sufficient, some suggest that Apple should either give out free bumpers, or arrange to have a special coating applied to the antenna so the danger that your sweaty palms will kill the signal will be lessened.

That, however, doesn’t address what might be done about the units already sold. Perhaps Apple might simply offer to either exchange the units, or just hand out free bumpers or cases to satisfy angry customers.

On the long haul, Apple needs to learn how bad news can easily get out of hand, regardless of the factual basis behind the unfavorable stories. Their famous spin control machine could must do better.