Will mobile make us immobile? And free up valuable time for us to sit on the sofa using apps?
We all know that the places where 'mobile meets physical' give rise to some of the most compelling ideas in this marvelous business of ours.
It's why we're all so childishly captivated by AR, check-ins, voice activation, Shazam and so on.
But for every victor, there's a loser. And sometimes the downsides are staring you in the face if only you sat down for long enough to run through the possibilities.
Take supermarkets, for example. People rave about their apps, and quite rightly. They can be brilliant. But here's a thought. What if you take your Tesco app into Sainsburys with you, check out the offers and put back onto the shelves everything you can buy cheaper at the rival store?
This is a consumer psychology issue, really. How many shoppers will make this extra effort for a few pounds of savings? And shouldn't app owners be at home anyway?
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It's hard to say. But I'm certain retailers are aware of the 'dangers' of essentially letting digital rivals onto your floorspace.
This week I had a coffee with the highly companionable Peter Swain of mobile marketing agency AlwaysOnMessage, who alerted me to this fascinating subject. He also told me that Ikea is rumoured to have installed cell blockers in its stores to restrict phone use.
I wash horrified. What about those terrified men who need to call their wives because they're not sure they've got the right Billy wardrobe?
It turns out this is exactly why the signal was blocked: Ikea had worked out that these hapless males would rather take a risk (and therefore buy more) than go home empty handed.
Either that, or they'd just never leave. As I understand it, there are communities of feral husbands still living inside these giant superstores.
And then I read that Apple has submitted a patent application to block phone use at live gigs. Why? To stop people shooting and broadcasting their own footage of the event.
I doubt this will ever see the light of day. People tend to get squashed and faint at gigs (admittedly, this is rare at the Swedish Jazz soirees I attend), and the first 999 call disabled because Apple wants to protect LiveNation's IP wouldn't be Steve Jobs' finest PR moment.
Whatever, it makes you realise that mobile is massively disrupting our 'physical' lives.
One company that's trying to accelerate the change is Mobile Money Network, which is printing codes on physical goods and trying to get people to buy them via their mobiles.
It argues that avoiding a queue, grabbing an out-of-stock item and not having to carry something heavy home are some of the reasons why people might choose this channel over just sticking it in a bag and taking it with you.
It's all fascinating stuff. And what it will do to our high streets is anyone's guess.
I only know that I can't wait to try out my Poundstretcher app in Poundland and see if anything is cheaper than a pound.
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