Verizon: Mandatory face-to face training Jan 25 to Feb 4... for iPhone?

Verizon is having another one of their mandatory face-to-face training sessions for an "iconic pre-order", this one scheduled for January 25 to February 4, 2011, and it could just be for the Verizon iPhone. That's what many seem to believe, at least.

An alternative could be the Android-powered Thunderbolt, but we're being told February is blackout month for Verizon which has not been the case before.

This source has been good to SPE in the past but if there's anything we've learned from years and years of rumors -- we'll believe the Verizon iPhone is here when Steve Jobs holds it up, and/or it goes live on Apple.

Still, it jives with reports of Apple employees getting blacked out during a similar period and seriously, the amount of rumors coalescing around early February 2011 sure are interesting.

What do you think, has the go order been given?

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.