iPhone Lite on Verizon's network

I just got out of a meeting with Verizon rep, and in talks with the rep I asked about the likelihood of Verizon getting the iPhone. According to the rep, the iPhone Lite is slated to be released yet this year (2009, but no definite date), followed by the full iPhone on the Verizon network in early 2010. They're also working on their EVDO upgrade, which will be known as LTE (long-term evolution) and that's expected to be implemented in 2010 as well, but this has already been reported by various sources. The iPhone Lite will be a slightly smaller than the current iPhone models, and will also have less memory. For those of us who really just need a phone for calls and email, it'll probably be a good fit rather than the overkill we get with the current iPhones. Tethering was also mentioned, and the rep expects it to be allowed on the Verizon network. From the conversation we had, I'd say AT&T needs to watch out because their reign on the iPhone may be in jeopardy soon.

UPDATE 10/28/2009 - As most of you already probably know, recently Verizon released new iPhone attack ads because of the upcoming release of a Google Android phone on the Verizon network. At this point, it is unlikely that Verizon would do this is they were planning on getting the iPhone themselves, so I think it is safe to say that iPhone users are stuck with AT&T even longer. The good news is that with Google gaining momentum and increasing the availability of their Android phone selection to more providers, Apple won't have much of a choice but to open up the iPhone to other carriers in order to keep up. The problem is that it likely won't happen soon, and the newest thought is that Verizon will be looked at for the iPhone only after they've finished deploying their upcoming LTE network.