Sprint is joining Verizon in taking advantage of the iPhone and iPad's wireless networking weaknesses. Sprint is advertising a "4G" iPhone. How does it work? Well, it doesn't involve new hardware from Apple, I can tell you that much.The commercial is called "Make Your iPhone 4G". How do you do it? Pretty simple, really. Take your iPhone and turn on the Wi-Fi radio. Then get yourself out to a Sprint store a pick up an Overdrive. What's an Overdrive? It's a hotspot creator made by Sierra Wireless that makes use of Sprint (and Clear's) WiMax network. (By the way, Sprint calls its WiMax network a "4G" network, though that point is up for debate in some circles based on technicalities.)

Fire up the Overdrive, connect to Sprint's (still somewhat limited in footprint) WiMax network, and make sure the Overdrive has the hotspot creator function turned on. Connect your iPhone to the Overdrive's Wi-Fi network, and voila, you have a 4G iPhone.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

This follows an internal memo that circulated through some Verizon channels that noted how sales reps can talk up the MiFi. The MiFi connects to the internet via Verizon's 3G network. People who choose to buy the 3G-less version of the iPad can connect it to the MiFi to internet anywhere.

Want to see Sprint's commercial? Enjoy: