I know longer have the precise reference, even though it's a rather recent quote. Not that I thought that anybody was going to try and check my resources, but I like to be precise about these things. Still, here it is. Professor Peter Cochrane, the chief technologist at British Telecom has remarked:

In the next three to five years, mobility looks set to become the dominant mode. There are already far more mobile phone chip sets being manufactured than the PC equivalent, and in an increasing number of countries, the mobile phone is becoming the terminal of choice and convenience. As more mobile bandwidth becomes available, we will see a sea change in applications. In Japan, more people buy goods using their mobiles than their PCs, and in Europe, you can pay for a cab, pay a restaurant bill, and buy food on your mobile.

And I tend to think he's right. The marriage of the internet and mobile via WAP will apparently usher in a new era in which we can all we connected all the time. But somewhere along the line that vision seems to have become a bit diluted. We're connected for things and more things instead of for the feel of cosmic companionship.