Apple’s go-to writer for “controlled leaks” got the ball rolling yesterday when the Wall Street Journal published an article by her and two other writers that focused on Apple’s upcoming iPhone refresh.

Sourcing “people briefed by the company,” the WSJ says that Apple is planning to release a CDMA iPhone compatible with Verizon’s network. Pegatron is said to be manufacturing the new handset and they plan to start mass producing it in September.

Knowing as much as I do about Apple, I find it hard to believe that Apple would release an iPhone on Verizon’s network. Let’s not forget that the Motorola DROID’s entire marketing campaign appears to hinge on what it can do and the iPhone can’t. We also shouldn’t forget about Apple’s line of ads showing the ability to use AT&T’s data network while on a phone call. I just don’t know if Apple’s ready to drop AT&T exclusivity quite yet.

Soon after the Wall Street Journal’s report Engadget heard that the upcoming iPhone would be named the iPhone HD and would be announced on June 22. John Gruber also decided to weigh in and point out that the WSJ didn’t mention anything about the A4-family CPU, the 960×640 display, or the front-facing camera. He doesn’t exactly come right out and say it but it appears that this is what he’s been hearing.

Sounds like this is going to be a pretty good handset. Look out Windows Phone 7 Series.

Update 3/31/10: Changed some wording to make it clear that John Gruber didn’t specifically say that the next iPhone would have all of these features, simply that the WSJ didn’t mention them.