Carl Panasik

High-profile launches and talk about video calls are out; the reality of 3G is better voice calls and improved data speed. To see beyond the next hill. To peer over the horizon. That's what imaginations crave. And what is engineering, after all, but the practical union of science and imagination? Perhaps that's why we find talk of 4G wireless telephones so alluring. We know they are out there somewhere ­ four, five, six years away. And because they are, so far, undefined, our imaginations give them any shape, any features that we can conceive. What if? we ask. What if? At some point, though, our engineers' practical side kicks in and brings us back to the here and now. Today's reality is 3G wireless, and even this technology is still in its infancy. We have much more to do in 3G, many challenges yet to meet, enormous potential still to tap. In a very real sense, we... (more)