Edible Apple

Hot on the heels of a rumor which has Apple releasing a tablet sometime in early 2010, comes a report that Verizon is working as fast as it can to accelerate the rollout of its 4G network, presumably so that it’s ready in time for the tablet launch.  While everything at this point still falls under the umbrella of speculation, many people believe that the forthcoming Apple tablet will come with built-in Internet access provided by Verizon.

Citing an inside source, TechCrunch writes that Verizon had initially planned to roll out its 4G LTE service in 20-30 markets by the second half of 2010, but is now scrambling to push up that roll out so that everything will be in place by the first quarter of 2010 – which, of course, happens to coincide with the rumored release of the Apple tablet.

It’s also very possible that these moves by Verizon, if indeed true, are completely un-related to an Apple tablet and instead are related to the iPhone potentially coming to the Verizon network in early 2010.  Still, TechCrunch points out:

Our source believes there is definitely some credibility to this Apple/Verizon tablet talk, because such a partnership could work while the Apple/AT&T exclusive iPhone pact is still in place — which it seemingly will be in Q1 2010. The reason is that this tablet will apparently not have a microphone, so in other words, it cannot do voice calls, which puts it outside of the Apple/AT&T agreement. Such a Apple/Verizon deal would then only include data transfer, with is also interesting in what it could mean for the pricing.

Verizon is largely considered to have the largest, most reliable, and most efficient network in the US, and if Apple can ship a tablet with built-in Internet access via Verizon, it’ll be a helluva upgrade for users used to using AT&T’s oft complained about and arguably shoddy network.

Either way, and no matter how every thing turns out, things are certainly getting interesting over in Cupertino.