We've heard a couple of rumblings in the past month or so suggesting that a Sprint iPhone may be on the horizon, and tonight the mythical device is back in the news. According to unnamed sources speaking with 9to5Mac, a version of the iPhone similar to the iPhone 4, possibly the iPhone 4S, is currently being testing by both Apple and Sprint. The tipsters claim that Apple ordered Sprint cell towers for their campus in late 2010 in order to test the device, which is similar to the process Apple went through while prepping the Verizon iPhone. The device that's currently in testing is said to be 3G-only, although it's said that talks of producing a 4G Sprint iPhone are underway. However, those negotiations may cause the device to be pushed to late next year, meaning that if we see a Sprint iPhone this year, it likely will not be 4G-enabled.

A separate report from Talk Android reiterates one analyst's claim that the iPhone 4S will be made available to both Sprint and T-Mobile. The site claims that AT&T/Verizon and Sprint/T-Mobile will alternate getting a new iPhone each year, with AT&T/Verizon getting first dibs on the iPhone 5. Additionally, it's said that if and when the Sprint iPhone does arrive, its users will need to pay $89.99 per month for a data plan rather than the $69.99 Everything Data plan that Sprint currently offers. In the same report, Talk Android claims that Sprint is planning to begin using an LTE network, a rumor that has surfaced several times in the past.

Rumors about a possible Sprint iPhone have been around for some time, but they've been getting a tad more frequent and more detailed as of late. The possibility of such a device existing does seem a bit more plausible since the arrival of the Verizon iPhone, and it could make sense for Apple to make a Sprint iPhone available in order to bring even more iOS users into the fold. That said, all of this information is still firmly in the rumor category for the time being, so it'd probably be wise to keep a grain or two of salt nearby. What do you all make of the latest round of Sprint iPhone scuttlebutt? Is the iPhone nearing release on the Now Network?

Via 9to5Mac, Talk Android