Sprint to Turn iPod Touch Into 3G Mobile Hotspot?
Phone Scoop yesterday
discovered new
regulatory filings posted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission showing a new Sprint-branded 3G mobile hotspot device manufactured by ZTE that appears to be in the form of a designed case to wrap around Apple's iPod touch.
The Peel, as FCC photos suggest it will be called, seems to be a carriage sled for a tablet style device like the iPod touch. The Peel does not seem to connect to its host device, and it seems to be a specially designed Wi-Fi hotspot device that could offer EV-DO networking to an iPod touch in a package that could be clamped to Apple's Wi-Fi-only iPod.
In addition to apparently allowing an iPod touch to connect via Wi-Fi to access the case's 3G data capabilities, the user manual suggests that the Peel would serve much like a traditional 3G mobile hotspot, allowing up to five devices to connect to it to share the Internet connection.
The Peel would not be the first time Sprint has tried to tap into the Apple iOS ecosystem to promote its mobile hotspot devices. Earlier this year, the carrier released a
television commercial touting its Overdrive 3G/4G mobile hotspot device by claiming that Apple's iPhone could achieve a ten-fold increase in data speeds by connecting through the Overdrive on 4G as opposed to the iPhone's built-in 3G connectivity through AT&T.
Soon after the launch of the Wi-Fi iPad in the U.S., Sprint also rolled out a free "4G case" to hold both the iPad and the carrier's Overdrive hotspot device, promoting the package as a way to achieve high-speed mobile connectivity with the iPad and other mobile devices.
Popular Stories
iOS 18.1 will be released to the public in the coming weeks, and the software update introduces the first Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone. Below, we outline when to expect iOS 18.1 to be released. iOS 18.1: Apple Intelligence Features Here are some of the key Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 beta so far: A few Siri enhancements, including improved understanding...
Things are firming up for a big Halloween week for Apple, with the company's next operating system updates reportedly coming early in the week and hardware launches coming a few days later. Ahead of those hardware launches, we've recently seen what appears to be one of the most significant physical product leaks in years, while some of the new features in Apple's recent software updates have ...
While the iPhone 16 series was released just a few weeks ago, there are already many rumored features for the iPhone 17 models, and especially for the Pro models. Below, we recap five key new features rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max so far: 24MP front camera for all iPhone 17 models: All four iPhone 17 models will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the unprecedented leak of Apple's M4 MacBook Pro models and the company's rumored move to more staggered hardware and software releases. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Multiple leaks surrounding Apple's unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip recently surfaced online. The leaks began with unboxin...
In iOS 18.1, there is a new option to set a "Primary" email address in the Settings app, which means it is easier to change the main email address associated with your Apple Account. The Primary email address is the one that is visible to other people when collaborating on and sharing documents, sending calendar invites, and more. Apple did not previously make it easy to change an Apple...
Apple today stopped signing iOS 18.0, preventing iPhone users who have upgraded to iOS 18.0.1 from downgrading to iOS 18. Apple released iOS 18.0.1 a week ago on October 3. It is not unusual for Apple to stop signing older versions of iOS within a week or two after a new version of iOS is released. When Apple stops signing an update, it can no longer be installed on an iPhone due to a...
Rumors strongly suggest Apple will release the seventh-generation iPad mini in November, nearly three years after the last refresh. Here's a roundup of what we're expecting from the next version of Apple's small form factor tablet, based on the latest rumors and reports. Design and Display The new iPad mini is likely to retain its compact 8.3-inch display and overall design introduced with...
Apple often releases new Macs in the fall, but we are still waiting for official confirmation that the company has similar plans this year. We're approaching the middle of October now, and if Apple plans to announce new Macs before the holidays, recent history suggests it will happen this month. Here's what we know so far. As of writing this, it's been 220 days since Apple released a new...
