• USA Today, San Jose Mercury-News, Monday, April 27, 2009 10:48 AM

Verizon and Apple are in talks about developing an iPhone for Verizon's CDMA wireless network, which is different from AT&T's GSM technology, that could hit the market next year, sources say. The "high-level" discussions started before Apple CEO Steve Jobs went on medical leave and have continued in his absence, Leslie Cauley reports.

Apple would gain access to Verizon's 80 million customers, which would be a big loss for AT&T, says Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen. "Breaking the [iPhone] exclusivity with AT&T ... would send shivers into AT&T's stock and senior leadership," he says.

Apple, meanwhile, disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that it cut the equivalent of 1,600 employees, or about 10%, from its retail operations during the quarter ending March 31. In addition to the "challenging consumer-spending environment," the company blamed lackluster retail sales on the expansion in the number of other retailers offering its products, Jack Davis reports.

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