Vision Quest

With the introduction of what could only be described as the first generation of multimedia messaging services, wireless providers are finally attempting to put a discernible face on what has been the relatively nebulous concept of 3G.

They've talked about 3G in terms of the cost of spectrum, what data and video applications it could enable, and even how much better wireless voice reliability will be because of it. That's all well and good within the walls of the wireless industry, but let's face it: Most consumers weren't going to understand what it meant to have 3G until there was something they could try out for themselves.

That's why the PCS Vision offering from Sprint PCS — in particular its wireless imaging application — is the subject of this month's cover story. It's fitting that the first tangible evidence of next-generation wireless is as simple as the wireless transmission of a digital photo: At the very real risk of sounding trite, a picture really is worth a thousand words — and since wireless carriers have tirelessly churned out thousands upon thousands of words to hype 3G, a picture was overdue.

It's important not to lose perspective on this photographic development, however, and prematurely herald the fact that 3G is finally here. Wireless imaging is, after all, a service that has yet to be proved out with either mass consumer or business customers, and is of somewhat dubious necessity. (Even Sprint PCS President Chuck Levine, in Vince Vittore's feature that begins on page 40, was only able to give a couple highly specialized examples of how imaging might be used for commercial applications.) Most of the empirical evidence I've seen (including Lynnette Luna's review on page 11) suggests that the process is cool and fun, but the quality of the images transmitted is fair to middling. In other words, it's not yet quite as state-of-the-art as Sprint's trenchcoat-sporting spokesman might make it seem.

But it's forward momentum, and that's critical — as is that fact that the industry must keep that momentum going. Wireless imaging may never evolve beyond something the kids use to covertly capture pictures of their newest crushes and wirelessly e-mail them to one another across high school halls, but in the mobile scheme of things, that would be OK — as long as carriers (and, importantly, application developers and device manufacturers) follow it up by regularly launching services of increasing relevance and revenue-generating potential.

So let wireless imaging enjoy its 15 minutes of fame as the wireless industry's newest killer app. In the meantime, get busy inventing, developing, perfecting and promoting the next one.