It must mean, according to bloggers and pundits, that Verizon and Apple will finally announce that the iPhone, which has only been available in the U.S. on AT&T, will become available on Verizon's network. There's even a date for the launch: Thursday, February 3.

QUIZ:  

If the newly inflamed speculation proves true, this would mean, technically, that Apple is releasing iPhone 4 models with a CDMA radio, presumably exclusively for Verizon in the U.S., as today's iPhone is exclusive to AT&T's GSM network.

The new round of rumor and hope was fueled today by a that a "source close to Apple" had "confirmed" that the company was blocking some employee vacation requests, presumably for staffers in Apple's retail stores, from Thursday Feb. 3 through Sunday Feb. 6. The inference drawn by BGR is that this action would ensure fully-staffed stores to support a major announcement – in this case selling and activating CDMA phones for Verizon.

About two hours later, John Paczkowski, a blogger at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital site, posted an .