Ah, it's that time of the year when the biggest of holidays are past and all that remains are parties, parties, and, of course, Apple Rumors. And since the line up calendar has the iPad up next, that's where the rumor scuttlebutt has landed. And so it begins.

According to DigiTimes (via AppleInsider), the first couple weeks of January will see Apple begin cranking out Wi-Fi compatible iPads, UMTS versions, and a CDMA model. It's that last one that has people all hepped up. The first two versions already exist, partnering Apple with the carrier everyone loves to hate on, AT&T, who runs a UMTS-based wireless network. Verizon, as we all know by now, hangs out with the CDMA crowd and that is just one of the many reasons the iPhone isn't on the red network.

While the rumors also have Apple improving the glare and smudge on the screen, the element with the most promise in all of this is those four little letters. With Apple possibly set to roll out a Verizon version of their incredibly popular tablet, is it just a dry run for both sides for a later CDMA compatible iPhone 5? Such a move would make sense for both parties and could herald the long-anticipated break from AT&T's monogamy torture.

Of course, if you want one of these bad boys right out of the gate, you're going to have to move quick. With a rumored half-million iPads assembled at a 3:4:3 ratio, that puts Apple's initial Verizon friendly iPad 2 at just 150,000 units for starters. With projections of 40 million for 2011, though, chances are you won't have any problems down the road.