With reports making rounds for quite some while now about Apple supposedly developing a Verizon version of the iPhone - which thus far is available exclusively from AT&T -, Sprint apparently has no chances of carrying the popular handset in the near future.

Nonetheless, Sprint has come up with a device which appears to be the next best option to actually carrying the iPhone on its network. The device - the ZTE Peel - is essentially a case that turns the iPod Touch into a cell phone, giving it the ability to connect to Sprint's 3G network.

The ZTE Peel - which works only with the older models of the iPod Touch, and not the ones that are being currently sold by Apple - wraps around the iPod Touch; thereby creating a secure Wi-Fi network that the device can securely link to.

According to MSNBC reports, the cost of Sprint's ZTE Peel is a staggering $80, along with the additional monthly charge of $30 per month; though the users do not have to sign into a contract with the carrier.

Despite the somewhat limited ability of a rather highly-priced ZTE Peel to connect only with the older iPod Touch models, as well as its bulkiness because of its battery, the device can still be useful in the sense that it will aloe users to join the Sprint network while they are out!