Verizon

There's been a lot of noise lately about Verizon and the iPhone. Sure, some could be wishful thinking. Some could be to manipulate the ongoing Apple/AT&T negotiations. But could there be anything more to it?

We've heard rumors that an iPhone nano/lite/mini could be coming, and coming to Verizon alongside an iPhone-esque iTablet/iPad.

Once again it is time for another From the Forums. A weekly post in which TiPb takes some of the many good threads from our forums to put into the spotlight. To join in on the forum action be sure to register, it's a painless process - we promise.

Daring Fireball posted a tremendous article about how Verizon, AT&T, and Apple benefit if the rumors about an iPhone Lite and iPad media tablet on Verizon are true-ish (Gruber also looks at Apple's iPod strategy mapped to the iPhone -- go read it now, I'll wait).

What struck me, however, was how Verizon, AT&T, and Apple benefit from the rumors themselves rather than the actual devices and/or their eventual carriers, if any.

"Pink" iPhone Killers, from the folks who brought you "Blue Screens" and "Brown Zunes". Mmm, taste that rainbow... Sigh. Maybe Pink is the XBoxPhone we've always dreamed of. Maybe it really is just a candy-coated Diamond 2 with pop-tart trademarks. Dunno. Nobody does. Giant mystery in puzzle pastry with enigma frosting. Until we know for sure, however, there's no danger in speculating, is there?

WMExperts links to a Wall Street Journal story that makes it seem like something Microsoft and Verizon think could might possibly take on the iPhone with such killer features as "multimedia" and "App Store".