Is Verizon getting the iPhone this summer or not? It's a big question for Verizon and Apple following separate reports that AT&T has a deal with Apple to carry iPhone exclusively for five years, and that an advertising campaign is in the works for Verizon and iPhone that "very nearly confirms" a Verizon iPhone launch this summer.
On Monday, reports surfaced that the original iPhone exclusivity deal that AT&T and Apple signed at the iPhone's 2007 launch was good through 2012. That was according to Engadget, which found the five-year exclusivity plan after digging through court documents. As Engadget and other sources noted, however, AT&T and Apple may have renegotiated the terms of the deal since then.
Either way, Verizon may still get the iPhone sooner than that. Earlier Tuesday came a report from CrunchGear that Landor Associates, the advertising and marketing services company, has an iPhone campaign for Verizon on the way.
Specifically, CrunchGear quotes an anonymous insider as saying Landor is "hard at work" on an iPhone HD launch campaign for Verizon.
A Verizon iPhone has been the subject of much speculation for at least the past year. In late March came new reports that Apple was at work on a new CDMA version of the iPhone that can run on Verizon's 3G network -- the latest in a series of rumors that suggested iPhone will finally be available from AT&T's archrvial.
Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg has made repeated public statements voicing Verizon's interest in the iPhone. Last month, at a conference in New York, Seidenberg said that Verizon is "open to getting the device" and that "our network is capable of handling it."
