Another "iPhone on Verizon" rumor has left the blogosphere in a tizzy. Bloomberg on Tuesday reported that Apple will start offering the iPhone on Verizon Wireless in January 2011.
This is not the first time this rumor has circulated, of course. Ever since Apple announced an exclusive iPhone contract with AT&T in 2007, Verizon users have wondered when the popular smartphone will be available on their carrier. But when Apple opted to use AT&T for the launch of its iPad tablet, and introduced the iPhone 4 with nary a mention of other carriers, Verizon users again heaved a heavy sigh and pondered a switch to AT&T.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs appeared at this year's D8 conference, during which he was asked about the chance of a Verizon iPhone. He was typically evasive, however. "There might be," he said in response to a question about whether there would be an advantage to having more than one iPhone carrier.
Will that happen, though? "The future is long," Jobs said.
When asked about AT&T and customer complaints, Jobs said that any carrier – including Verizon – would have had the same issues. AT&T, however, will end up with the most robust network because of its early experience, he said.
The relative radio silence from Apple about Verizon hasn't stopped the rumors.
Earlier this month, a Barclays Capital analyst said the iPhone would come to Verizon in early 2011. That came several weeks after another analyst predicted that T-Mobile might be the second U.S. carrier to nab the iPhone.
In March, the big rumor was that Apple was prepping a CDMA version of the iPhone that could be marketed by Verizon. Verizon and Apple, however, have said that CDMA technology is on its way out, and Verizon is working hard on its 4G long-term evolution (LTE) technology.
The same reports cropped up last year, too, of course. In April 2009, USA Today cited unnamed sources who said Verizon and Apple would introduce a Verizon iPhone in 2010. That was followed by reports that an Apple "media pad" – now known to be the iPad – might be backed by Verizon.
Even after Apple announced the iPad with data plans from AT&T earlier this year, there were still reports that Apple was working on a Verizon version of the tablet. But as PCMag mobile analyst Sascha Segan pointed out at the time, "everyone in the wireless industry is talking to everyone about everything. Pretty often they're even working on something. That doesn't mean it's a done deal."
At this point, Verizon users might want to examine some of the fairly decent smartphones now available from their carrier. "If you hold out for a nonexistent Verizon iPhone, you'll be missing out on the excellent Web browsing you could have on the Palm Pre Plus, or the 18,000 apps for the Motorola Droid, and at the end of the day, you'll have nothing," Segan wrote.