In the last year, millions of people have snapped up new smartphones, filled them with apps and promptly found out that they couldn’t actually use them.

The problem? Either the much-hyped 3G pipeline was clogged with other users, or the cell connection wasn’t even good enough to ring the 3G bell in the first place. AT&T users have had it the worst, thanks to the network’s iPhone data hogs.

Carriers are quickly adding high-speed network capacity, but in the meantime, AT&T and T-Mobile are throwing another lifeline to customers in the form of Wi-Fi. Both are making it easier to connect to wireless hot spots with their phones, in an effort to deliver fast data and clear calls in areas where neither might be possible.

In this respect, AT&T has been the most aggressive of any carrier. The company said this month that customers with a Windows Mobile phone could now connect freely at any of the company’s roughly 20,000 hot spots.

AT&T claims to sell more Windows Mobile phones than any other carrier, and with the introduction of Windows Mobile version 6.5 next month and new Windows phones like the HTC Touch Pro2, it stands to sell more. Now all Windows Mobile users can duck…

Sprint and Verizon representatives have confirmed that both carriers will launch a revision of the forthcoming BlackBerry Tour which includes a Wi-Fi radio, making it a first for both CDMA carriers.

In related news Sprint has confirmed that every smart device manufacturer that wants to offer smart devices on the carrier must include a Wi-Fi radio in the device, a requirement that can be seen in the latest devices from HTC and Palm in the Pre and Snap, noting that the decision was made internally to require Wi-Fi in previous quarters.

The reasoning behind the inclusion for Wi-Fi was borne out of customer demand and a desire to reach parity with GSM carriers, since Wi-Fi radios are routinely included in GSM BlackBerry models.