I came across these guys recently, AmbieSense: "...context-sensitive technology is based on the use of context tags. These small electronic tags are a means of capturing and communicating information about the surroundings (i.e. info about the environment). The context tags within AmbieSense are unique as they can store a large amount of structured data and communicate it to mobile computers. "

As it's been explained to me, this is kinda turning the model of mobile on its head: rather than being connected to a wide-ranging network, over which you can access all sorts of data, the data itself is distributed over the physical world via short-range networks. The other obvious comparison is RFID, but Ambiesense seems to be about broadcasting data into the environment (rather than exposing data about a product into that environment) - and large quantities of it, too.

I can't work out what to make of this, but it's refreshing to be reminded that nothing's set in stone...