Analyst: BlackBerry Torch could arrive on Verizon early next year

Ever since the BlackBerry Torch launched exclusively on AT&T back in August, RIM fans everywhere have been wondering when they'd be able to get in on the BlackBerry 6 slider fun on a carrier other than Big Blue.  It's almost 2011 and we're still waiting, but one analyst thinks that we won't be waiting much longer.  Shaw Wu, analyst at Kaufman Bros., is reporting today that his "checks" show that BB 6-powered devices, which Wu thinks is the Torch, could arrive on Verizon some time between January and March of next year.  Wu also says that Verizon is excited about getting the iPhone, with sources reporting that VZW sees Apple's device as "essential" to their success in the future.

While the Torch's specs can't touch those found on its high-end competitors, it's certainly one of the better BlackBerrys on the market, and I've got a feeling that it'd do well on Verizon.  The number of RIM fans on Big Red has certainly been shrinking lately, but the Torch is quite a bit different compared to the 'Berrys currently available on Verizon, and it could entice some customers to join RIM's army once again.  Would any of you pick up a BlackBerry Torch on Verizon or have you moved on to to Android or another OS?

Via Barron's