I Have Seen The Future, And It Looks A Lot Like Bump (Without The Bump)

There is something about exchanging information by bumping fists that is deeply satisfying. What I like most about the iPhone app Bump is that it's different . Its features are nifty enough; transfer money, information, and as of last week, music to someone else by tapping your phone against theirs. More importantly, though, it's a harbinger of the next wave of the mobile revolution. Unfortunately, that also means Bump is already doomed. Most app developers treat smartphones as little more than very small laptops. Location-based apps are the only real exception, which is why they've provoked such excitement. But that is obvious low-hanging fruit. Only a very few apps take advantage of the fact that smartphones are constantly with us, portable enough for actions that laptops can't perform, and frequently within range of a shifting mesh of other devices.