Abstract:

The rapid convergence of the voice, data and video networks is driving the wireless communications industry to undergo and unprecedented paradigm shift. Similar to voice services, multimedia services are now an indispensable mobile service component. This is exemplified by Apple's recent success in selling more than one million units of its next-generation iPhone 3GS on the first debut weekend in June even when the recession is in full swing. In this article, we will review and envisage the R&D development on multimedia technologies and the underlying wireless communication networks, respectively.