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Here it is, the next big thing: K-Com

After much research, contemplation and study, I have come up with "the next big thing".

And, in a stunningly generous move, I'm going to tell you all what it is so that you can rush out and implement it if you choose to do so.

We're talking about a bit of hardware and software that could represent a trivial extension to existing smartphone technologies -- in fact the functionality probably already exists but just hasn't been marketed properly.

It's all about creating mesh networks that support P2P traffic in a way that sidesteps fixed mobile and WiFi infrastructure in a way that frees up users to exchange data, information and communicate without the artificial boundaries, limits, policing and expenses that infrastructure normally imposes.

Imagine you're a spotty teen on the lookout for a particular music track that you don't want to pay money for.

How do you do that now?

Odds are that you go online and use a P2P network to track down and then download the file you're after.

Well that's getting to be awfully dangerous these days. With the new laws you could find yourself in hot water and possibly facing disconnection and stiff fines.

The alternative is to ask around your friends to see if any of them have the track. If they do you can then "pick it up" on a USB drive, memory card or via an online dropbox website -- using the cloud as your delivery vehicle.

The first (physical) option is inconvenient and slow. The cloud-based option is almost as risky as the P2P network option -- just look at the MegaUpload saga.

The reality is that network operators are now being forced to play "cyber-cop" for the recording and movie industries to the extent that pretty soon, your every upload, download and search will be monitored, scanned and reported -- if it represents some kind of copyright violation.

So what do you think would sell like hotcakes to the massive number of spotty teens out there?

How about a hand-held device that is a media-player, text-based communicator and music gatherer/disseminator?

You load up your handheld device with your music collection and create a "want list" of titles you're missing but would like to collect. Then you just put it in your pocket and carry on about your daily routine.

Whenever the device comes into range of another device, it performs a query transaction to see whether the required track exists on that device -- or if that device has a route to any other unit with the wanted files onboard.

Simultaneous to this, your device receives queries from others who are within range and if you have a track that someone else wants, it is sent wirelessly to the inquirer.

Now if you're walking down a country lane -- not much is going to happen. However, in the average high-school or urban environment, the chances are very high that you'll bump into someone who has what you want and that someone will bump into you and want what you have.

All of this will occur anonymously -- with no identifying information (apart from a transient session ID) being involved.

Short of actually stopping people in the street and frisking them -- there's no way "the powers that be" will even know who is actually carrying these devices. And, since session IDs are erased as soon as the transfer is completed or interrupted and all data on the device is encrypted, there is no way to prove that any individual device has sent or received any specific file.

Using readily available ZigBee technology on the 2.4GHz band, such a device could be made very cheaply and would have a range of several hundred metres or more.

This anonymous "pocket communicator" might have other useful applications.

For example, someone looking for a partner may choose to accept contacts from others who are similarly inclined. Such an anonymous exchange could then (by mutual consent) be turned into a "first contact" situation.

The key aspects that would make this device so attractive to such a huge market sector are:

• total anonymity
• freedom from network costs/monitoring
• cheap to purchase, free to use
• an alternative to P2P

It would be very interesting to see how "the powers that be" would respond to a massive proliferation of such devices. Clearly, the music industry would have an apoplectic fit but the avenues they'd have for mitigating such "impromptu networks" would be very limited.

So come on, who's going to be first to come up with some working prototypes, gather some seed/VC money and get this ball rolling.

Hey, NZ could be the next Finland and the K-Com (Kiwi Communicator) might be the next Nokia.

Or am I dreaming?

Has someone already done this? (there aren't many really new ideas under the sun)

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