Speculation is running wild after Thursday’s announcement that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will deliver the opening keynote at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. After months – perhaps years – of rumors, many see this as the (almost) confirmation they’ve been waiting for that AT&T will lose its exclusive stranglehold on the Apple device.
The news of Seidenberg’s keynote follows what’s probably the most credible report about a pending Verizon iPhone so far. Bloomberg claimed in late June to have talked with two sources who were “familiar with the plans," saying an iPhone compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network was on its way in January. Of course, Verizon and Apple wouldn’t comment. We’ve heard similar stories many times, but Bloomberg is one of the more reputable sources to make the claim, and that claim in the article was unwavering.
The CES is annual hotbed for the introduction of new gadgets every year, a showcase that many of the world’s top computer and electronics companies use to debut what they hope is the next big thing. They’ll all be overshadowed by the Verizon iPhone if it comes to fruition.
Despite complaints about data gluts leading to network service problems, the iPhone has been a huge success for AT&T, and it’s only natural that Verizon Wireless would want a piece of that pie.
