The rumors have been around for several years, but last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is on the verge of mass-producing a new version of the iPhone for Verizon’s network. As we’ve come to expect from these frequent rumors of impending Verizon iPhonedom, details are incredibly scarce. It’s unknown if the unicorn-like Verizon iPhone will be based on the iPhone 4 or the older 3GS. All that is known is that it will work on CDMA networks, and that it is distinctly different from the next-gen AT&T iPhone that is already in the design stages. Losing iPhone exclusivity could seriously hurt AT&T, but expanding beyond the troubled provider would be a boon for Apple.
Separately, Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available, said one person familiar with the new iPhone plan. It was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers.
At a press conference Wednesday, Verizon Communications Inc. President Lowell McAdam declined to comment on whether his company would soon sell an iPhone. “At some point our business interests are going to align,” he said, referring to Apple. “I fully expect it, but I don’t have anything to say.”
A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal in March reported on Apple’s plans to build an iPhone that works on code division multiple access, or CDMA, technology used by carriers like Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp.
Toni Sacconaghi, a Sanford Bernstein analyst, estimates Verizon could add more than 10 million U.S. iPhone customers, adding it could help stem the rapid adoption of devices that run Android.
No one knows for sure that when the iPhone will come to Verizon. Several websites reported recently that a Verizon iPhone will hit the stores in January next year. Neither Apple nor Verizon has said anything in this regard so far.
