As it turns out, the definition of “4G” is pretty loose. It stands for 4th Generation, meaning the next major level of advancement above the 3rd Generation of phones that we’re using now and have been for a while.

But while all these companies say that their new networks qualify as being 4G, the international organization that sets standards in these matters says that according to the agreed upon standards, these networks don’t even come close.

Glenn Fleishman of The Economist and BoingBoing.net fills us in on what a true 4G network would be like and what the latest networks, which some have called 3.5G, are capable of doing.

We also talk to blogger Keith Winstein who points out that there are lots of things that affect your mobile coverage more than what number comes before the G. Stuff like traffic on the network and number of towers in your area. After all, he says, what good is a 6-cylinder engine if you’re sitting in a traffic jam?

Also in this show, a team of scientists in England is supposedly getting close to building an invisibility cloak. Yep, just like in “Harry Potter.” Our Twitter Team shares their uses for such a creation.