Reports: Verizon iPhone Likely Coming Jan. 11

Update 2 p.m. PT: The Wall Street Journal claims it has confirmed that Verizon iPhones will be in stores end of January.

U.S. iPhone users frustrated with AT&T’s frequently dropped calls, limited geographic coverage, delayed delivery of iPhone tethering, elimination of unlimited data plans, poor customer service, and alleged cooperation with warrantless wiretapping by the NSA may soon have an alternative.*

Verizon yesterday sent out invitations to a Tuesday, Jan. 11 press event in New York.

Many believe that this event will be the debut of the iPhone on Verizon.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that “a person familiar with the matter” had confirmed the Tuesday event would be the announcement of a Verizon iPhone. Earlier, The New York Times cited “people with direct knowledge of Apple?s plans” who said that Verizon would soon be adding the iPhone to its lineup. Both phrases typically mean that a company has delivered a controlled leak to the newspaper.

Adding credence to the codewords, Gizmodo reports that it did not receive an invitation, despite having a good relationship with Verizon — while Apple-centric blogger Jim Dalrymple, who never covers Verizon, did. Gizmodo has been excluded from every Apple press event since it published photos of the then-unreleased iPhone 4. Gizmodo’s conclusion: Apple is behind Verizon for this event.

Many iPhone users have been frustrated with AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier of the iPhone since its launch in 2007. The company’s network frequently drops calls (especially for iPhone users) and many users crave faster data speeds and more extensive geographic coverage than the company’s 3G network currently offers. Despite adding additional infrastructure, AT&T appears to have had difficulties keeping up with the demand for the wildly popular phone. Many hope that Verizon would do a better job — or would at least offer an alternative to customers who like Apple’s phone, but don’t like AT&T.

We’ve been unable to confirm the Times and Journal reports independently, but the signs point strongly in one direction: Verizon is about to get the iPhone.

Maybe it will even be available in white.

* Note: An earlier version of this story stated that AT&T customers may be frustrated with its slow data speeds. In fact, independent test results published by PC World in February, 2010 showed that AT&T’s 3G network is on average 67% faster than 3G networks from Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. We regret the error.