Why BumpTop is the future of Android and Google Tablet

Google's buyout of the 3D desktop software BumpTop doesn't mean that Google is entering the shareware business. Instead, figure that Google will use the technology to build the next generation desktop for its Android operating system, and first-generation Google tablet. I've used and reviewed BumpTop, and this is clearly a good thing for Google.

Several days ago, BumpTop announced that it's being bought out by Google, saying on its Web site:

"Today, we have a big announcement to make: we're excited to announce that we've been acquired by Google! This means that BumpTop (for both Windows and Mac) will no longer be available for sale. Additionally, no updates to the products are planned."

BumpTop makes 3D desktop enhancement software for both the PC and Mac. There are free and "Pro" versions -- the Pro version costs $29. I've used and reviewed the PC version, and was impressed. It essentially converts your desktop into a 3D virtual room. You can place your icons, shortcuts, and files on the floor and along the walls. You can also place various objects into piles, or have BumpTop automatically group everything into piles on its own. You can see a screenshot, below.

There's a lot of nifty little extras, such as the ability to create picture frames which cycle through pictures on your hard drive, or display pictures grabbed gotten via RSS feeds. You can even fling objects and watch them bounce, search for desktop objects, and use a variety of widgets, including one nifty one that will upload your picture to Facebook when you throw a picture onto the widget.

BumpTop is also fun to use, which is important for a cell phone operating system, especially one like Android, which seems a bit buttoned-down at this point.

In my use of BumpTop, I did notice one drawback. It tended to extract a performance hit, so Google is going to have to pay attention to that issue, especially if it uses it as Android's desktop.

Why am I so convinced that BumpTop will be used for Android? Because there's no point in buying it otherwise. Google certainly has no interest in entering the shareware business, and there's really no reason for it to develop a Windows-based or Mac-based piece of desktop software. And the fact that BumpTop has a "multi-touch" interface that makes it ideal for a smartphone or tablet.

On the other hand, there are great opportunities in the mobile market, where Google is up against Apple. It needs something flashy (not to mention Flash-y) to compete there, and I'm betting that BumpTop will be the core of it.

Also, expect BumpTop to be the primary interface for whatever tablet Google will eventually launch. It's ideal for a tablet...in fact, even more ideal for a tablet than a phone because of the amount of screen real estate available on a tablet.