Rumor: Verizon iPhone to debut early next year
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will start manufacturing a Verizon-ready iPhone by the end of this year, with sales to start early 2011. Based on the iPhone 4, the new phone would leverage CDMA technology instead of the GSM 3G mobile technology used by AT&T. Wireless telecommunications company Qualcomm will provide a key chip for the new device.
Sourced to "people briefed by Apple," the WSJ story is thin on details but is published on a reputable site that usually doesn't stick its neck out on unfounded items. If this report is grounded in truth, it indicates the end of AT&T's exclusivity deal with Apple and the possible opening of the device in the United States for even further carriers.
This is a rumor we've heard several times before.
