Where, oh, where is mobile hotspot functionality in the current batch of BlackBerry smartphones. BlackBerry OS7 was rumored to include the feature, but it’s yet to materialize. A newly-leaked Sprint memo now gives us some insight into the feature’s coming availability.

In response to customers wondering why the box for the BlackBerry Torch 9850 on Sprint mentions hotspot capabilities, the carrier has distributed said memo to its employees to enable them to answer customer questions. The official word, according to this, is that the phone will gain the ability via its first major software update, which is currently expected to arrive sometime in Q4 of this year.

While this only specifically concerns the Torch 9850, we’d expect to see other current-gen BlackBerry models get the same treatment when their updates arrive. As should be no surprise, you can bet on carriers locking-down this functionality and charging extra access fees above and beyond the data you’re already paying for. At least it’s something to look forward to.

Source: CrackBerry