Verizon iPhone “confirmed” for early next year

In what is essentially an article on Verizon CEO Ivan ­Seidenberg and his recent activities as he approaches retirement age, Fortune at CNNMoney.com “confirms” Verizon will start offering the iPhone early next year.

The article opens by touching on the recent tease with Verizon’s iPad + MiFi bundle, then cuts to the chase with this:

Fortune has confirmed that a Verizon iPhone will be released in early 2011.

Can’t get any more straightforward than that. Of course, being “confirmed” by a media outlet doesn’t carry as much weight as being publicly announced by the source, but it does back an earlier claim by WSJ. Pretty weighty stuff, but I’ll still be keeping this on “rumor” status pending an official statement by Verizon and/or Apple.

As if it bears repeating, I’ll reiterate that it is probably is only a matter of time until the iPhone is available on Verizon’s service. It could happen in 2011. Could happen in 2012. Won’t know for certain until it actually happens. All I do know is that releasing it on a different cycle than the current iPhone would be a smart move, diffusing that pent-up demand that explodes on their single annual release day, so early “insert year here” is a safe bet.