Verizon-Android: Apple and its iPhone still shine

Hearing about Google (GOOG) teaming up with Verizon (VZ) Tuesday had me, and others, thinking a potential Apple (AAPL) and Verizon partnership could be squashed.

Not to worry, iPhone users who are dying for Apple to sell iPhones under the Verizon banner. Verizon executives told reporters Tuesday on a conference call that Google's partnership with Verizon does not preclude others from forming a relationship with the telecom giant. OK, so does a Google-Verizon phone threaten Apple iPhone sales?

In a word, no. Certainly Verizon's network trumps AT&T's network. Yet, until Google proves it can help produce a phone that changes the mobile-phone landscape the way the iPhone did, Apple has little to worry about.