Verizon iPhone pre-orders sold out, new VZW iPhone ad debuts

Contrary to the anticipation of some midnight ramblers (or, to be precise, three in the morning bandits), the Verizon subscriber-exclusive pre-order window didn't close for business before the sun rose on the East Coast this morning. It took all of 17 hours or so for the initial allocation of pre-order Verizon iPhones to get churned through, meaning there won't be any more orders placed until 3:01 AM ET on February 9 (online orders) or 7 AM local time on 2/10 (store purchases).

Given that demand for the device is expected to remain extremely high -- AppleInsider cites a uSamp survey finding that a jaw-dropping 54 percent of VZW's Android and BlackBerry users say they're either very likely or somewhat likely to buy the iPhone -- there's not much need for Verizon to stoke opening day demand. That's not stopping Big Red, though, as the company released a new television ad showing the sleek lines of the iPhone 4 and closing on a variation of a very familiar tagline. Video embedded in the continuation of this post.

The last time we asked, in January, about 1/4 of you were interested in picking up the Verizon phone (even if that meant making the leap from another carrier). Let's ask again, but this time just current VZW subscribers: ready to buy?

[hat tip Engadget]

Verizon's new iPhone ad: