Hold Your Breath Verizon iPhone Could Arrive Next Year!

After Verizon aired advertisements bashing the iPhone, many tech observers agreed it was unimaginable that Apple could be considering sharing the popular smartphone with Verizon. But a new report suggests the contrary.

Apple is indeed delivering a Verizon iPhone in the third quarter of 2010, claims research firm OTR Global. The firm cites sources who say Apple is working on a “worldmode” iPhone compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network. (Apple’s current iPhones only work on the GSM standard, which AT&T’s network is part of.)

The firm’s report, which was provided to AppleInsider, also claims the handset will have a smaller screen — 2.8 inches, significantly smaller than the current iPhone’s 3.5-inch display.

Whispers of a different iPhone being developed for Verizon were exchanged back in April. BusinessWeek cited two sources “familiar with the matter” saying Apple and Verizon were working to offer two new iPhone-like devices: a smaller, less-expensive calling device (perhaps an “iPhone lite”), and a more expensive, unnamed media pad, which can place calls over Wi-Fi, display photos, and play music as well as high-definition video.

Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T will reportedly end in 2010, and many observers speculated that the Cupertino, California company would then share the iPhone with Verizon. However, the consensus quickly reversed when Verizon aired its Droid TV ads ruthlessly attacking the shortcomings of the iPhone.