Verizon iPhone To Hit The Shelves By The End Of The Month
January 9, 2011
Following yesterday's numerous rumors surrounding the arrival of the iPhone on Verizon, The Wall Street Journal is back at it again with even more details concerning the launch of the device to the public.
In case you missed the news, Verizon sent out invitations to the press on Friday inviting many high profile journalists, including Apple bloggers, to an event next Tuesday (January 11) in New York City.
The guest list alone was enough to get everyone speculating. Then, shortly thereafter, The Wall Street Journal followed up by announcing that they have it on good authority that Verizon will indeed be announcing, at the event, the iPhone's arrival on their network. They further confirmed in a third item that Steve Jobs would be present on stage.
If you consider The Wall Street Journal's track record of Apple rumors (often believed to be controlled leaks from Apple) and the fact that they posted three stories about it, we can safely say that this is a done deal. That is, Verizon will be announcing the arrival of the iPhone on its network come Tuesday.
Yet, the rumor mill keeps spinning. In a fourth article published tonight, the WSJ claims that it has now learned when the device will be made available to the public. According to them, it will be in stores by the end of January. They also added that the device Apple will be releasing is a modified, CDMA version of the current iPhone 4 that can run on Verizon's network.
Needless to say, this is big news. The exclusive distribution of the iPhone in the U.S. by AT&T has been bad for Apple. Many customers are unable or unwilling to switch to AT&T and have been stuck buying Android devices instead. International comparisons of smart phone adoption speak for themselves. The end of AT&T's exclusive distribution agreement with Apple will most probably change this landscape for a long time. This will be very positive for iOS.