Verizon Wireless iPhone on Store Shelves in November, According to Analyst
Analysts haven't necessarily been on a roll as of late (are they ever?), but we'll go ahead and feed into their egos a bit, and let you know that one in particular firmly believes that the Verizon Wireless iPhone exists. And, not only that, but it's going to be on store shelves by the end of this year, just in time for the holiday season.
According to Ashok Kumar, an analyst for Rodman Renshaw, the Verizon Wireless iPhone certainly exists. And, after checking with his sources at manufacturers, it looks like ASUS' manufacturing extension, Pegatron, is indeed planning on making iPhones in time for a release by the end of this year. We had already heard that Pegatron could be doing the manufacturing side of a CDMA-based iPhone, and this does fit right into the program, but maybe that's just too comfortable. The truth is, we're still waiting to hear some kind of official confirmation from AT&T or Apple that that 5-year exclusive deal still means anything or not.
Sadly, this does fit right into Verizon's plans, if they stick to their holiday "big release" strategy. Both the original BlackBerry Storm and Motorola DROID were released in time for the holiday season, and while we know that two new Droid devices are hitting shelves in July, we imagine that an iPhone would be a bit "bigger" in perspective, so the later date launch would make sense. Unfortunately, we don't think that we'll hear a Verizon-tuned announcement at WWDC this year, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tune in just in case. We'll be there, bringing you our legendary liveblog front and center at http://live.slashgear.com, so stay tuned.
[via Electronista]