Verizon is sending out invites to a press event they are holding in New York City on 1/11/11 at 11:00 A.M. The topic for this event is noticeably missing from the headline and the plain jane invite itself hold no clues. So what do you think, could this finally be the announcement for the Verizon iPhone?
Those of you that have been following CES know that Verizon Wireless held a big press event yesterday that detailed the carrier’s 4G plans for the upcoming year and unveiled ten upcoming 4G LTE devices. If Verizon already held a press event to announce ten new devices, why would they hold another one less than a week later? What else is left to announce?
The prevailing rumor suggests this event will be the long-awaited Verizon iPhone announcement. The selected date and time include an unusual number of 11s which hints that this date was carefully chosen for its unique numerical properties. A special date for a very special event. The time between the invite and press event is also very, very close together. A timing that suggests the wireless carrier wanted to keep this press event under wraps as long as possible. It is also very Apple-like to give the media such quick notice of a press event.
Several recent rumors suggest Verizon and Apple are prepping for an imminent iPhone launch. Apple employees reportedly have a vacation freeze for January and February which was put in place to handle an increase in sales and support questions that accompany a new product launch. In addition, a CNET tipster also singled out this 1/11/11 date for a Verizon iPhone announcement. According to this tipster, the January date was chosen to steal some thunder from CES.
While several sign point to a Verizon iPhone announcement, the lack of involvement by Apple is surprising. One would think Apple would be involved in such a high profile event and would not let Verizon steal the show. Even if Apple did give Verizon top billing, wouldn’t Apple want the event to be held in California so it could easily send some high-profile company executives to make a token appearance? In the end, this event will remain a mystery until Tuesday. Thankfully, we only have four days to wait to find out what Verizon has up its sleeve. I hope we won’t be disappointed.
Update: So its looking like several Apple-friendly writers like MG Siegler of TechCrunch and Jim Dalrymple of Loop Insight were invited, while Gizmodo of iPhone 4 prototype fame was not invited. This exclusion is notable as Gizmodo is on good terms with Verizon, not so much with Apple.
