Economist: "Mobile 3G telecoms: Vision, meet reality"
Just read an article in the Economist "Mobile 3G telecoms: Vision, meet reality" ( economist.com ), which quotes ITU's 2000 vision for 3G (ITU = International Telecommunication Union):
The device will function as a phone, a computer, a television, a pager, a videoconferencing centre, a newspaper, a diary and even a credit card...it will support not only voice communications but also real-time video and full-scale multimedia. It will automatically search the internet for relevant news and information on pre-selected subjects, book your next holiday for you online and download a bedtime story for your child, complete with moving pictures. It will even be able to pay for goods when you shop via wireless electronic funds transfer. In short, the new mobile handset will become the single, indispensable "life tool", carried everywhere by everyone, just like a wallet or purse is today.
Interestingly, every single detail of ITU's 2000 3G-vision has now been realized now by DoCoMo in Japan. |
