February 3rd Launch Date Set for Verizon iPhone and Design Drawings

Submitted by lalit on January 7, 2011 - 12:23pm.

Even though Apple is not present at CES, the two most talked about gadgets at CES are iPhone and iPad. And with recent photo leaks and rumored Verizon iPhone announcement coming very soon it looks like Apple will again steal the show at CES.

The Verizon iPhone rumors again started in full-force just few days before CES when a YouTube video showing the redesigned iPhone 4 antenna bezel was posted. The video was removed after Apple filed copyright claim, but the images showing the redesigned bezel can be seen below. In the new design Apple has changed the break points separating various antennas, perhaps making the antenna function more efficiently.

Also a Chinese website has posted images showing the design drawings of a revised iPhone 4 model. When compared to current iPhone 4 design the new images show very small changes in design, indicating that the design drawings are showing changes to current iPhone 4 model and not next generation iPhone. It’s very much possible that these design changes were made to accommodate CDMA radio for Verizon iPhone.

Adding more fuel to Verizon iPhone fire, BGR reported today that Apple has set February 3rd as the launch date for Verizon iPhone. BGR posted:

BGR has confirmed with a source close to Apple that the company has blacked out employee vacation requests between February 3rd and February 6th — Thursday through Sunday. The four-day vacation freeze has been confirmed to be in effect in several regions in the United States. Back in June of last year, Apple picked the dates of 24th to the 27th for its iPhone 4 weekend launch — also a Thursday through Sunday. In addition, Verizon Wireless typically launches new devices on Thursdays. While BGR has not yet confirmed that the Verizon iPhone is the device we’ll see debut on the 3rd, the timing lines up very well with previous reports; no other Apple products have been rumored to be launching in this time frame.

Everything points to a Verizon iPhone announcement very soon. Our sources say that the Verizon iPhone announcement will come by end of January and the phone should ship soon after the announcement.