Google Buys Bump

Bump is a unique app that’s a dark horse in the world of file transfers. It allows users to transfer files between phones, and between phones and computers, all with a simple ‘bump.’ It works like so: the app running on the mobile device uses the phone’s sensors to feel when the physical bump occurs, which sends the information up in to the cloud. The algorithms in the cloud match devices that feel the same exact bump in the same place, and uses that data to transfer files between devices. It makes sharing and transferring files as easy as NFC, but with the same degree of functionality as dropbox. And now, Google owns this capability. It will be fascinating to see what Google uses it for (one imagines Drive will be updated with Bump, at the least), and how it will add to Google’s already impressive arsenal of startup technology.