Duct-Tape Makers Look for Boost From Consumer Reports iPhone Verdict

So Consumer Reports, proprietor of the largest nonprofit consumer-product testing center in the world, says not to buy Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 4 (or, alternatively, have some duct tape handy). How will that affect sales?

Tough to say. The much-publicized reception issues surrounding the iPhone 4’s antenna design do not seem to have slowed uptake noticeably yet. But now that those issues have been verified under laboratory conditions by an independent review organization, particularly one as influential as Consumer Reports, you’d expect sales to suffer at least a bit. Right?

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz thinks they might, or rather he thinks there’s a risk that they might. “At this point, concerns around iPhone 4 reception do not appear to be impacting demand, but we think there are risks when a well-respected product rating agency such as Consumer Reports issues an unfavorable report,” he said in a note to clients, adding “The report should turn up the heat on Apple.”

Or spike sales of the company’s iPhone 4 Bumpers…or duct tape.