Rumors of a Verizon iPhone get louder, due in January?

Rumors about a potential Verizon iPhone have been popping up for years, and despite being shot down by Apple time and again, it seems they simply refuse to die. The latest tidbits come from two separate reports citing the usual unnamed sources, and from AT&T's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the company hints its exclusivity arrangement with Apple in the U.S. might be coming to an end.

This is the first time the carrier has addressed handset exclusivity deals in a SEC filing. Though the iPhone is not mentioned by name, with the device generating 3.2 million activations in Q2 2010 alone it's clear no other handset is as important for AT&T's bottom line. In its lengthy filing the company talks about reducing its dependence on "any single handset," reassures shareholders that the loss exclusivity arrangements won't have a material negative impact on their income, touts the variety of smartphones it has on offer, and claims it plans to offer incentives to retain existing customers.

Meanwhile, word on the web is that Apple is buying millions of CDMA chipsets from Qualcomm in what looks like preparation for a Verizon Wireless iPhone. TechCrunch said that the chipset order is due for December, which could mean a January launch, while DigiTimes jumped in claiming that a CDMA iPhone will go into mass production in December by Pegatron, who will supply the resulting handsets to both Verizon Wireless and China Telecom.

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