“Just a month ago the tech market was gripped by iPhone 4 fever,” writes cbsnews.com’s Charles Cooper, “[but] the conversation has shifted and some public relations executives say that a recall is likely, if not inevitable.”

The tipping point is Consumer Reports having recently said no dice after testing the iPhone 4 and determining that the antenna problems aren’t caused by software issues and that it’s basically a hardware design issue.

“What are the odds that Apple would feel enough pressure to order a recall? Place your bets. Apple continues to sell huge volumes of iPhone 4s, [but] this is the sort of perception problem that can quickly root itself with the wider public.

“This is no longer an arcane debate confined to the tech community. When the antenna complaints first surfaced, that may have initially been the case. Now Consumer Reports has become involved and the controversy has gone mainstream. ‘If geeks are the canary in the coal mine,’ writes CNET’s Molly Wood, ‘Apple would do well to start counting carcasses. And as Consumer Reports goes, so goes much of America.”