RIM has been able to get by with their old release strategy largely in part because Verizon subscribers generally don’t switch carriers. RIM knows that even if a CDMA BlackBerry is released on Verizon a year after it it first released on a GSM carriers that there will be Verizon subscribers eagerly awaiting its launch.

Although I don’t agree with this strategy I can see some of the benefits of it from RIM’s perspective… The main benefit being that it allows RIM to capture lightening in a bottle twice. If a new GSM BlackBerry is a big hit you can pretty much be sure that the CDMA version will hit big as well. The problem, however, with this strategy is that your biggest GSM carrier becomes the flag ship carrier for the the hottest mobile device, well…ever and that device is not named BlackBerry.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the news lately, Apple released a little mobile device called the iPhone 3G not quite a month ago and most reports indicate that it it is the fastest selling mobile device in history. It just so happens that not only is AT&T the flag ship carrier for the iPhone, but, they are the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, however, I don’t believe that it is just a coincidence that AT&T is experiencing huge success with the iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Bold, which was supposed to makes it’s debut last month is probably not coming out until next month or later. AT&T, being the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., has a strong desire to sell as many iPhones as they can. This is not to say that they don’t want to sell as many BlackBerrys as they can, however, I believe that they are going to focus their efforts on what is hot right now.

This is a problem for RIM because GSM BlackBerrys, with the exception of the upcoming BlackBerry Thunder, always come out significantly before their CDMA counterparts. If AT&T isn’t all gung-ho about releasing a new device, this poses a problem for RIM because T-Mobile just isn’t big enough to be the primary GSM provider in the U.S.

To make a long story short, I’d be willing to bet that the BlackBerry Thunder will be the first of several new devices to come out in a CDMA variant first.

Verizon also dropped its industry leading churn rate down to 1.12% down from 1.3% last year. I am going to go out on a limb and say that churn will rise modestly in Q3 as AT&T just released the iPhone 3G at a very attractive price point.

This is two quarters in a row that Verizon has made more money than AT&T so apparently, being the biggest doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the best.

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Lehman Brothers analyst Jeff Kvaal says that strong sales from Verizon and expected strong sales from AT&T should drive strong sales in the second half of the year. Kvaal has raised is his fiscal 2009 EPS estimate from $3.61 to $3.85.

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BGR does it again. They’ve come up with live pics of the upcoming Verizon BlackBerry Thunder, Research in Motion’s first touchscreen BlackBerry.

I don’t know how I’ll like a touchscreen BlackBerry without a physical keyboard, however, I do know that I like that fact that the BlackBerry Thunder is coming out on Verizon first.

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Well, it looks like the nation is about to be down to 3 major wireless carriers. Verizon and Alltel have made it official that Verizon will acquire Alltel for $28.1 billion. Verizon will pay about $5.9 and inherit about $22.2 billion in debt.

When all is said and done, I just hope that Verizon keeps the wizard that we see in the Alltel commercials.

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According to CNBC, Verizon is in “deep talks” to acquire Alltel, the nations 5th largest wireless carrier for an estimated $27 billion dollars.

TPG and Goldman Sachs took Alltel private last November in a $27.5 billion deal it is not expected that Verizon will pay any more than this even though Alltel has increased its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) by 10 percent since the leveraged buyout was announced last may.

If Verizon pulls an Alltel acquisition off it, once again, will be the nations largest wireless provider. Verizon currently sits in the number two spot behind AT&T by the slimmest of margins and an Alltel deal will definitely put them over the top.

To make a long story short, subscription based GPS service on your mobile phone sucks and Garmin finally figured that out. Most people that really need GPS bad enough to pay a monthly charge for it should go out and buy a dedicated GPS device that, quite, frankly, will be better than a phone with GPS.

Verizon would be smart to take this approach as well. As I’ve said before, I’d be willing to bet that more BlackBerry using Verizon subscribers would be willing to pay a one time fee for GPS than would the number willing to pay a recurring monthly fee.

We know that Verizon locks the GPS down in their BlackBerrys. We may not like it, however, they can and do charge you a premium to use their brand GPS service. I understand this… Don’t like it, but, understand it.

Conversely, Verizon BlackBerry users don’t have any access to VCast, Verizon’s 3G streaming media service. It is safe to say that both the BlackBerry Pearl and the BlackBerry Curve are attractive to consumers… Consumers who are more likely to pay for VCast than those who pay for VZNavigator. Why doesn’t Verizon offer these services? This, I don’t understand.

Lets let that sink in for a minute. Not only could the touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder be coming to Verizon first in the U.S., it may only ever be offered by Verizon.

The BlackBerry Thunder will have a touch screen only. According to BGR, the first touchscreen BlackBerry will not have a slide out keyboard and only have 4 physical keys. Rumor also has it that the BlackBerry Thunder will by a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C and GSM HSPA for when you traveling internationally.

For clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE

I’ve been debating or not if I want to buy the new Verizon BlackBerry Curve. I don’t really need it, as my 8130 is working just fine. I believe that I will wait to here bit more about the BlackBerry Thunder. If this is really coming out next quarter, I think that I just might have to wait for it and forego the Curve.

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Credit on this find goes to CrackBerry.com reader Will who found this gem right on Verizon’s site. As I write this post the discrepancy is still live, however, we did a full screen grab after the jump assuming that Verizon will eventually correct their mistake.