Report: BlackBerry Tour being rushed out

Research in Motion's BlackBerry Tour world phone will be released this weekend on both Verizon and Sprint for $199, and while the device has been received warmly by reviewers and BlackBerry fans, a point of consistent criticism has been the device's lack of Wi-Fi.

A report from Sprint has arrived, saying that Wi-Fi is a necessary feature in major devices, but the Tour was actually rushed out. Bringing the new BlackBerry to Sprint in a timely fashion outweighed the carrier's desire to wait for Wi-Fi, according to the report. Consequently, a version of the BlackBerry Tour will be released next year equipped with 802.11.

Verizon would not directly confirm that it will also be offering a Wi-Fi enabled Tour next year, but it did say it was working with RIM to bring Wi-Fi to future BlackBerry models. This statement could actually refer to the BlackBerry Storm upgrade, which will reportedly endow Verizon's exclusive touchscreen BlackBerry with Wi-Fi connectivity next September.

Research in Motion has not officially announced the device yet, but CEO Jim Balsillie confirmed to Reuters last May that a next-generation Storm was in the works.