“It will be 2008 to 2010 before WiMax handsets appear. But why will you need a WiMax handset when you are targeting the same market that already has 3G and everything else coming through?” Thomas said.

That's easy. No-one uses 3G because of the cost of data transfer, and the fact that the 3G network is so tightly controlled by the mobile operators.  WiFi and WiMAX, however, are fundamentally different.  A home WiMAX network connection is no different than a current WiFi connection, only faster and operable over larger distances. With  Intel integrating WiMax chipsets into notebook PCs next year, and handheld PC and mobile phone makers expecting to follow suit, people will simply upgrade to WiMAX very easily.  In addition, unless the mobile operators drastically reduce the cost of 3G, WiMAX will blow it out of the water.

My personal opinion is that WiMAX (or some equivalent, such as Korea's WiBro)  will become the main carrier of large data files, with 3G only being used when the user is outside of a WiMAX hotspot.

[Source: VNUnet]