It can be fun to speculate on what is coming in the future, and I do that from time to time, but I try to stay away from reporting rumors on iPhone J.D. because they are so often very wrong. And if there is one topic that has been the topic of non-stop rumors since the iPhone was first released in 2007, it is the topic of the iPhone coming to Verizon. As Jenna Wortham of the New York Times wrote yesterday, "By now, the rumors of a Verizon iPhone are as common (and tired) as Lindsay Lohan’s repeated stints in jail." Nevertheless, one of the top questions that I am asked by people thinking about buying an iPhone is whether the iPhone will come to Verizon in the near future, so I know that there is great interest in getting hard facts on this topic. That is why I reported last month that AT&T is taking steps that indicate that AT&T thinks that the iPhone is about to come to Verizon. And that's why I decided to mention today that the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the iPhone will be on Verizon in the first quarter of 2011. The WSJ report is based on unnamed sources, but that paper has a good reputation for vetting stories so there may well be something to this one. [UPDATE: The New York Times is now reporting the same thing.] And now for the other iPhone news of note this week:
- Since I'm talking about stories based on anonymous sources today anyway, I might as well report on this one as well. Ryan Block of GDGT reports that he has been told by Apple insiders that the glass on the iPhone 4 is especially prone to scratching and then breaking when slipped into a tight case. In other words, you think that you are protecting your iPhone by using a case, and instead the case causes it to break. It will be interesting to see what comes of this story.
- Ryan Block's partner at GDGT, Peter Rojas, wrote an interesting article on how Apple was smart to let AT&T provide the network for the iPhone instead of Apple starting its own phone network.
- The free Netflix iPhone app recently added a video out feature. Thus, you can stream a Netflix movie or TV show to your iPhone, plug your iPhone into your TV, and then watch streaming video on your big screen TV. The iPhone acts as your set top box. Of course, for this to work, you need the cable that connects your iPhone to a TV. Apple has a $50 option, but Alan at Art of the iPhone describes some of the cheaper options. Keep in mind, though, that instead of spending upwards of $50 on cables, you can spend $100 on an Apple TV, and when iOS 4.2 comes out next month you are supposed to be able to wirelessly stream from your iPhone to the Apple TV — plus get all of the other advantages of an Apple TV.
- Speaking of the Apple TV, Jesse David Hollington of iLounge describes 15 lesser known features.
- Harry McCracken writes for Time about the differences between the iPhone and phones that use Google's Android operating system.
- Actor Tony Curtis died recently, and Oskar Garcia writes for MSNBC that Curtis loved his iPhone so much that he asked to be burried with it.
- Jeff Gamet writes for the Mac Observer that AT&T will be adding cell phone coverage to New York City's underground subway stations.
- Logan Kugler of Computerworld recommends 10 iPhone apps for business collaboration.
- And finally, New Orleans attorney Ernie Svenson shared this video with me showing off one of the most bizarre iPhone chargers that I could possibly imagine. I'm still trying to decide whether I should tell Svenson "thank you" or "yuck" for sharing this one with me. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you don't care for this one, direct all hate mail to Svenson. (Via Boing Boing.)
