When Verizon President and COO, Lowell McAdam, was asked to comment about the report from The Wall Street Journal, McAdam replied,
It’s one of those things that rolls out every few weeks whether there’s a basis for it or not. I can’t give you any insights, but I think Apple is the one that has to make that announcement. What I’ve always said is I expect at some point in time our business interests are going to align. I think things like LTE are another great reason why they’d want a device or tablet on that network. But I don’t have anything to say today about timing.
Despite the remarks, rumors of a CDMA iPhone arriving in early 2011 have persisted.
These rumors of a Verizon iPhone have been coming since it’s debut in 2007 but the “rumors” seem to have more and more “proof” behind them.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal quoted “people briefed by Apple,” as saying the new iPhone,
would be similar in design to the iphone 4 currently sold by AT&T Inc.,
…but it would be using CDMA technology, the same technology both Verizon and Sprint use. They also stated that,
The phone, for which Qualcomm Inc. is providing a key chip, is expected to be released in the first quarter of next year, according to the same people.
Also on Wednesday, Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Bros., wrote:
in our checks with the industry and supply chain sources, we have picked up indication of development and progress on new form factor iPhones.
Representatives from Verizon, Qualcomm, and Apple all declined to comment on the issue, however, just a few weeks ago, Verizon CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, said no one should expect the iPhone on Verizon any time soon. The one and only reason why this statement would be a lie, is so that Apple’s fourth quarter earning do not drastically drop as people await the release of the new iPhone. This occurred when the iPhone 4 prototype was discovered. Consumers stopped buying the iPhone 3GS and instead waited for the iPhone 4 to be released which in turn drastically dropped Apple’s quarter earnings.
The Journal also stated that Apple,
plans to begin mass producing a new iPhone by the end of 2010 that would allow Verizon Wireless to sell the smart phone early next year, said people briefed by Apple.
Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the matter. One person familiar with the new iPhone plan said the fifth-generation iPhone will be a different form factor from those that are currently available. It was unclear how soon that version will be available to Verizon.
Another interesting note that many websites overlook, is that Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, is scheduled to give the main keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 2011, which may very well be where the announcement for the Verizon iPhone occurs.