Anyone who knows me will tell you that I, as an avid Apple® product user, want an iPhone more than anything. As a current Verizon Wireless user, I was extremely disappointed when Steve Jobs, at the Apple® product unveiling event in January, did not reveal a Verizon iPhone. Although there had been much talk about the hype of an ereader – now known as the iPad – Apple® has been known to showcase their newest upgrades for other products at these events as well.

My discouragement increased when Apple® and AT&T announced their exclusive 3G pre-paid data plans for the iPad. At that point, I lost all hope for the iPhone coming to Verizon within the next few years. Doesn’t Apple® realize that they could make so much more money if they released a Verizon version of the iPhone?

Apple® could be a wireless powerhouse with one of the best smart phones and the “number one network in the U.S.” It should be a perfect match. Yet Apple® has stood by AT&T throughout their battles with Verizon in the “There’s A Map For That” commercials, even though customers constantly complained about AT&T’s dropped calls and static service.

Many blogs have been buzzing about the launch of a Verizon 4G network and how the iPhone could possibly be announced in conjunction, but the odds of that are highly unlikely as well with Verizon and Apple®’s constant conflicts.

For those of you who are Verizon customers and cannot switch your service, Verizon launched their V CAST Apps store on March 29, 2010. According to Leroy Williams, Verizon’s developer community liaison, the app store will be compatible with the BlackBerry® Storm2™ and additional devices in the “the next few weeks and months.” This is just one more announcement that makes the iPhone seem like it will never leave AT&T.

Many people I know would love to have an iPhone, but they are either binded to other carriers by their contracts or refuse to switch networks. In the meantime, it looks like we’ll have to find substitutes for our smart phone options.