According to Phone Scoop, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s documents reveal that Sprint – one of the leading wireless carriers in the US – is apparently launching a new case for the iPod Touch that can provide
3G wireless access to the device.

As per Phone Scoop, the new iPod Touch sleeve, dubbed ‘Peel,’ has been manufactured by Chinese manufacturer ZTE. The case - which essentially is a WiFi hotspot that wraps around a WiFi-only handheld - can hold the iPod Touch and supply ‘EV-DO 3G’ service through WiFi.

While Phone Scoop has noted that the ‘Peel” has been cleared only for operation on the slower EV-DO Rev 0 standard, and not the much swifter Rev A used by most of the present 3G devices, it has also observed that snapping the ‘Peel’ on to the iPod Touch can give it a network connection, provided the users are getting the Sprint 3G signal.

Along with providing 3G network access to an iPod Touch, the ‘Peel’ can also connect other WiFi devices. The manual that the ZTE has submitted with the FCC suggests that the ‘Peel’ does not limit the number of concurrently connected devices; which is quite unlike the other mobile hotspots that restrict the connections to four or five.

Furthermore, going by the manual, the ‘Peel’ features its own 3.4Whr lithium ion battery that which can apparently offer up to nearly 40 hours of standby time; thereby implying that, in active use, the battery can last a few hours.