Verizon iPhone Stocking Up: Tech Edge
NEW YORK (
) --
Verizon
(VZ) - Get Report
is reported to be stocking up on
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
iPhones ahead of a January launch.
Add this
bit of speculation
, courtesy of
MacDailyNews
, to the growing mosaic of the
and you might start to get the picture that
Apple and Verizon will have a big New Year's party
in the works.
|
After more than three years of exclusivity at
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
, the Apple iPhone is expected to land at Verizon next month. The possibility that Verizon is loading up its stores and warehouses with the iconic device -- something we
first uncovered nearly a year ago
-- probably shouldn't come as too big of a surprise.
Consumers already have altered their smartphone upgrade patterns
in anticipation of the Verizon iPhone
. Smartphone sales have started to wane at Verizon as subscribers, who normally upgrade to new phones at the end of their two-year contracts, have held off on phone purchases at a higher rate than normal, according to industry experts.
The rumor reported by
MacDailyNews
, attributed to one source, also asserts that the
Verizon iPhone will be a 4G device
. Instead of being just a 3G CDMA device, Apple and Verizon presumably have made the iPhone long-term evolution or LTE ready.
If true, it would certainly fill in the missing piece to
Verizon's recently announced 4G network
launch that conspicuously lacked a 4G phone.
Apple shares hit a new all-time high of $325.06 on Monday as the Verizon iPhone story gains momentum.
--Written by Scott Moritz in New York.>To contact this writer, click here: Scott Moritz, or email: scott.moritz@thestreet.com.To follow Scott on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/MoritzDispatch.>To send a tip, email: tips@thestreet.com.