Verizon to carry iPhone

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Verizon Wireless will sell the iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

There was no specific date for when Verizon would sell the phone in its stores, the paper reported on its website. The announcement will be made on Tuesday at an event in New York, WSJ said.

Verizon declined to comment. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Shares of Verizon rose 2.5 percent in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Apple shares rose 0.6 percent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

Verizon, Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, delivered cryptic nontransferable invitations on Friday to an event to Tuesday's New York event.

The in-box invite to journalists was skimpy on details: "Join us as we share the latest news from Verizon Wireless."

AT&T Inc is currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone.

On January 6, AT&T announced it will cut the price of its older iPhone model, the 3GS, to $49 from $99.

Apple's iPad is available through Verizon.

Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless said it plans to have 10 new devices -- including four smartphones and new tablets -- on store shelves by midyear for its high speed wireless data service

About time!