"Sprint is embracing WiFi in all its major devices going forward," said Jeff Clemow, the carrier's director of business product marketing.

Sprint is launching the BlackBerry Tour smartphone Sunday for $199.99. The device features support for both CDMA and GSM networks. Verizon Wireless also is offering the device Sunday, for the same price.

A major complaint among Tour reviewers is that the device does not support WiFi connections--a conspicuous situation considering many of RIM's devices for GSM carriers, such as the BlackBerry Bold for AT&T Mobility, do feature WiFi functions. To rectify the situation, Sprint's Clemow said the carrier will offer a version of the BlackBerry Tour starting next year that will include WiFi. He declined to provide a launch date for the device, other than to say that it will launch sometime after the first of the year."

Sprint is obviously listening to customers and realizes that while a high speed network is fast, WiFi is an important feature that smartphone users are starting to expect on their device. Hopefully this will send a direct message to Verizon, and AT&T. Good job Sprint!