Yet, "We've heard tons of rumors about 4G Verizon iPhones and incorrect predictions of when
Apple would drop AT&T-iPhone exclusivity, and the result is that the iPhone is still only on the AT&T
network in the U.S.," writes Mashable.
Says Fast Company: "That old faithful iPhone rumor, about a Verizon CDMA version of Apple's wonderphone, has surfaced again, to the delight of AT&T iPhone users and wanna-haves."
Fast
Company has speculated in the past that Apple uses the WSJ as "a deliberately leaky news valve." Yet, "The actual published story says little more than, 'There's a new iPhone coming in the middle of
2010, and it'll be better than its predecessors.'"
According to The Journal: "Apple Inc. is developing a new iPhone to debut this summer and also appears to be working on a model for
U.S. mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless."
Still, "There's a big difference between 'is' and 'appears to be,'" notes Darling Fireball. "And [The Journal] have no actual details of the next-generation iPhone. Nothing."
According to most analysts, however, such a deal can't come too soon. "Analysts in Apple's most recent earnings call referenced 'a lot
of bad press here recently' over the deal with AT&T and how it was affecting Apple's brand," writes the WSJ's Digits.
What's more, "Verizon certainly seems a likely candidate, as the carrier would immediately give Apple access to about 80 million new customers," writes Digital Daily. "But rumors of an Apple-Verizon deal for the iPhone and the iPad have been circulating for quite some time and none have ever panned out."