Online only would be fine with me (the sooner the better), but would be really dumb on the part of Verizon, especially if they don't get this out before Black Friday weekend.
If I'm a normal customer looking for a new smartphone for either myself or someone for the holidays, I'm going into Verizon to look at either the RAZR, ReZound, Nexus, or 4S. If the model I'm particularly interested in isn't there and there's not much else to look at, I'm going to leave the store empty handed, maybe think about it for a little bit longer or not even bother. But if I walk into a Verizon store knowing that they have the 3 best Android phones, all of which are exclusive to Verizon, plus the new Iphone, I'm eventually going to find something I find worthy of purchasing.
I don't pretend to know good marketing, but we're getting closer to Thanksgiving already and most people are already gearing up for holiday shopping. Verizon has a HUGE opportunity to advertise that they have the 3 best Android phones in a something-for-everyone kind of way, plus the 4S on the most reliable network, but all we are getting from them so far is the RAZR, and their window of opportunity is shrinking if they want to meet the biggest holiday shopping weekend all year.
But I agree, make us happy and release the damn thing online, and then market it in stores, if that is how you want to roll.