Verizon site drops hints of iPhone in late leak

(Update: not entirely new) Verizon may have tipped off its plans for tomorrow's event through placeholders in its smartphone list. Browsing through the "Brand/OS" section shows entries for both Apple and Apple iOS that are faded out. While Verizon sells the Wi-Fi iPad and could be referencing the tablet, it doesn't list Apple's slate even when the category is broadened to include all devices.

Other grayed out items are for manufacturers or platforms that are on the network but in different categories, implying that Apple is meant to be included in the mix but assigned to a hidden section that guarantees its devices won't show. It's unknown how long Apple had been mentioned in the list.

Verizon has already dropped inadvertent clues such as posting to Twitter from an iPhone with an update that it has since deleted. Although it won't confirm the nature of the event, it's considered virtually certain that the iPhone is the subject of the event, since phones like the HTC Merge wouldn't be important enough to merit a separate special event just two days after CES.

The CDMA iPhone should be virtually identical to the iPhone 4 and could ship as soon as late January. [via TechTrackr]

Update: 9to5's Marc Gurman noted that the entry has been present since the iPad was unveiled and likely isn't an indicator in itself.

By Electronista Staff