Ever since the Verizon iPhone was announced earlier this week, and even before it, there's been a lot of speculation about exactly how the device will affect AT&T.  Some think that a CDMA iPhone will bring AT&T to its knees, while others think that Ma Bell will actually benefit.  A new survey, conducted in December before the VeriPhone was actually announced, has attempted to show how many AT&T customers plan to defect to Verizon come February 10th.  First up, around 16 percent of all AT&T customers questioned said that they would switch to Verizon for an iPhone, while 23 percent weren't sure.  When only AT&T iPhone owners were asked if they were going to jump ship, though, 26 percent of all respondents said that they would switch.  Of that 26 percent, 41 percent said they'd switch within three months and 31 percent would do so within a year.

One other interesting Verizon iPhone-related tidbit: in a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg reveals that his carrier was never considered to carry the original iPhone in 2007.  Many reports in the past have claimed that Apple approached Verizon with the iPhone first, but Big Red turned the device down after Apple wanted a cut of the monthly service fees.

Now that the long-rumored Verizon iPhone is finally (almost) here, iPhone owners on AT&T have an important choice to make.  Certainly there will be users that jump ship first thing on February 10th, but I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to wait until the next-gen iPhone is revealed this summer before making a decision.  While it's widely assumed that AT&T will be getting the device, no one is sure whether or not Verizon will get it at the same time.  I'm inclined to think that both carriers will get the new device simultaneously, that way Apple doesn't have to deal with two separate iPhone launches throughout the year.  What do you all think?

Via MacRumors, Changewave, Businessweek