The gadget blogosphere’s collective scuttlebutting navel-gazers peg it as a near certainty that Apple’s forthcoming tablet will, at the very least, come with a 3G option, opening the door to carrier subsidization. But if the Tablet does support 3G, which network will Apple choose to partner with? Their current domestic carrier partner AT&T, which has proven incapable of handling the traffic demands of just the iPhone, let alone the Apple Tablet? Or will it be another network, like Verizon?
Only Wednesday will tell, but Boy Genius Report was just told by one of their sources that Verizon Wireless has a “kick off” event at the beginning of every quarter to bring store managers up to speed with what to expect over the next couple of months.
That kick off event hasn’t happened yet, but can you guess the date when it’s scheduled to occur. Yup, January 27th, 2010… the same day Apple is slated to announce the Tablet. Even more incriminatingly, it will occur via a “live webcast” at the exact same time as Apple’s announcement, 1PM EST or 10AM PST.
Coincidence? Possibly. Rumor? Definitely. But the inference is obvious: Verizon wants to tell their store managers about a big, big product development at the first possible second when they can do so. I suppose it could be a CDMA iPhone, which is heavily rumored to hit Verizon sometime this year, but let’s face it: the Tablet is still the most likely contender, given the date.
