This article advertises describes AirDrop, an application for Apple iPhones. The underlying technology is overtaking Near-Field Communications (NFC) and depends on a combination of Bluetooth and Wifi but is Mac-only. An equivalent, AirDroid, exists for Android phones. As phones are increasingly able to function as wireless hotspots we will see more applications like this that allow direct peer-to-peer sharing. Similar applications also exist for the other phones, and InstaShare is multi-platform, but unfortunately is adware. Another option is SendAnywhere, which has received rave reviews. Because the peer-to-peer sharing is encrypted and does not use any public internet services, it is undetectable by service providers; the only way to discover illegal file sharing to to monitor the devices directly, which I think most people would oppose. So we're in for another round of (albeit slower-moving) file sharing, which this time might be unstoppable.
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