Verizon Wireless could sell up to 25 million iPhone 4 handsets in the US throughout 2011, an analyst has predicted.

According to All Things Digital, R.W. Baird & Co. analyst William Power said that Verizon could sell 25 million iPhones this year, but warned the figure was not a prediction, rather a "directional number".

The analyst arrived at the figure after conducting a 1,000-person survey of Verizon Wireless customers.

The survey found that 29 per cent Verizon feature phone users said that they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ switch to a Verizon iPhone in the next three months. Verizon currently has around 64 million feature phone users, suggesting that 19 million of those will switch to the iPhone.

Power also said that 25 per cent Verizon smartphone users are planning to switch to the iPhone after it launches on 10 February. This brings the estimated number of Verizon Wireless customers buying the Verizon iPhone to 23.8 million. Add this to the 5.6 per cent AT&T iPhone users planning to switch to Verizon iPhone and the grand total comes to 25 million.