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Two stories have come out recently regarding Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest cell phone provider, and their relationship (or lack of) with the iPhone.

The first story, reported on the Street is that Nokia and Verizon are going to work together on a new 4G device for its upcoming LTE network:

For Verizon, Nokia represents a capable technology partner that could help fashion a device that delivers a next generation of media and data services. Verizon told a gathering at a recent trade show that it plans to get its LTE network started earlier than originally planned, largely in an effort to get a one- or two-year jump on AT&T’s upgrade.

Of course, every phone is an iPhone killer until it’s released. More telling is this story from the Boy Genius Report where a customer who left Verizon was asked several questions; and a number of the multiple-choice answers involved the iPhone.

Verizon Wireless must be feeling the sting of losing customers to AT&T due the popularity of the iPhone. A reader just alerted us to a survey peppered with iPhone references that was presented to him upon cancellation of his Verizon account. The coup d’etat was the question that posed, “What could Verizon Wireless have offered to keep you as a customer?” Among the optional answers, iPhone.

Rumors have been popping up lately that Verizon is working on a deal to carry the iPhone, but so far, that’s all they’ve been. As a Verizon customer, I can tell you that four months before the end of my contract I’m already getting offers of two-for-one Blackberries at ridiculous discounts, including the new touch-screen Blackberry Storm. I’d love to believe that this means Verizon is trying to clear their shelves before a huge announcement of a deal with Apple (or perhaps their own Android phone), but both seem unlikely given Verizon’s mania for controlling (and selling) the apps that go on their phones. I’ll believe in a Verizon iPhone when I hold it in my hand.

And then you’ll have to pry it out.