A recall of the iPhone is considered unlikely, according to a report from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, but analysts have suggested various possible routes Apple may take in an attempt to limit damage to the brand.

These include giving away free rubber cases and offering in-store fixes such as a protective coating to eliminate reception problems, as well as offering refunds to dissatisfied customers.

Apple has already released an operating system update after blaming the formula used to calculate signal strength for the reports of bad reception and denying any design fault in the antennae.

But third-party organisations such as Consumer Reports have confirmed problems occur when users grip the iPhone 4 in a way that closes the gap between the device's two antennas.

According to analysts, Apple should at the very least tell the truth, admit there is a problem, and apologize.

Apple has reported record sales for the iPhone 4, but analysts say most of these are existing iPhone users and the antenna problems could make it harder to attract new users until a redesign is released.

This story was first published by Computer Weekly