Report: Verizon to sell iPhones in January 2011

Bloomberg is reporting that Verizon will finally sell the iPhone in January 2011, ending AT&T's monopoly of Apple's flagship product in the U.S.

Let's see if this news sticks. The Wall Street Journal famously predicted that the iPhone would land on Verizon in June, but that didn't happen.

From Bloomberg:

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone next year, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive hold on the smartphone in the U.S., two people familiar with the plans said.

The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, declined to comment.

The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.

Source Bloomberg