Consumer Reports has issued a recommendation for the Apple iPhone for the first time in two years.

The influential reviews company said in a review of the iPhone 4S that Apple has finally addressed the antenna problems which had throttled reception and prevented Consumer Reports from issuing its 'recommended' status on the handset.

"In special reception tests of the iPhone 4S that duplicated those we did on the iPhone 4, the newer phone did not display the same reception flaw, which involves a loss of signal strength when you touch a spot on the phone's lower left side while you're in an area with a weak signal," the company said.

Consumer Reports also overlooked the reports of battery draining software bugs, and noted the improved camera and Siri voice control system. As a result, the iPhone 4S has received the recommendation which eluded the iPhone 4.

The site did note, however, that the iPhone 4S failed to match up with the top-rated Android handsets from Samsung and Motorola.

While the review will be a nice feather in Apple's cap, it is not likely to have much of an impact on sales. The iPhone 4 racked up record sales despite the snub from Consumer Reports, and thus far the iPhone 4S has set records of its own even without the 'recommended' label.

09 Nov 2011