Verizon to Definitely, Maybe Get iPhone in January

From PC World: The iPhone might be coming to Verizon in January? Can it be true? The rumor that never dies has popped up again thanks to some vaguely worded language in a filing to the SEC, and yet another rumor that Apple is producing Verizon-compatible chipsets for the iPhone. It's hard to know for sure what to believe when it comes to the future of Apple's smartphone, but there's nothing like a little iPhone rumor-mongering to kick off the week so let's dive in.

AT&T discussed its exclusivity arrangements at great length in its recent quarterly filing with the SEC, and first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The filing has sparked speculation not so much for what it said about the iPhone, but what it didn't say.

When discussing its wireless business, the carrier said it offered a wide range of devices including 18 smartphones. The reason for offering so many phones, the company said, was to reduce "dependence on any single handset."

If you've been following tech news for more than five minutes it doesn't take much to conclude that by "dependence on any single handset," the company likely means "dependence on the iPhone." AT&T may offer a variety of other handsets, but the iPhone is the most popular device the company sells. There's also no question the company is best known as the exclusive iPhone carrier in the United States.

After declaring the company doesn't depend on one handset, AT&T's report gets even more suggestive. "As these exclusivity arrangements end," the report says, "we expect to continue to offer such handsets...[and] do not expect any such terminations to have a material negative impact on our Wireless [sic] segment income."

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