1. A method for detecting data symbols corrupted by intersymbol interference and timing error, comprising: calculating a first plurality of state probabilities for received symbols using a forward recursive process on a joint intersymbol interference/timing error (ISI/TE) trellis; calculating a second plurality of state probabilities for the received symbols using a backward recursive process on the joint ISI/TE trellis; and using the first plurality of state probabilities and the second plurality of state probabilities to calculate a posteriori state transition probabilities for the received symbols.