Google Acquires 3D Desktop App Maker BumpTop

All that cash must be burning a hole in Google’s pockets, since it’s beginning to look like hardly a week passes without it buying up some new company. And, while some acquisitions can be easily explained and the new technology or talent slots in nicely with Google’s existing lineup, the latest one does seem a bit odd. Google has acquired BumpTop, the company behind the 3D desktop application with the same name.

“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,” an announcement on BumpTop’s homepage reads.

BumpTop is a 3D desktop application that aims to make your PC desktop look more like an actual desk. It has several interesting innovations and uses a physics model to handle all of the objects. It’s pretty impressive visually and the usability enhancements made it a viable replacement for both Windows and Mac systems.

Google has confirmed the acquisition, but has said it has no comments to make at this time. It’s unclear what the company plans to do with the technology. Some are speculating that it may be integrated in Android or Chome OS, but BumpTop is not very fit for any of the two operating systems.

More likely, and this is supported by the fact that BumpTop is shutting down all operations, Google plans to put the talented team to work on designing a user interface or components for either Android or Chrome OS. BumpTop is shutting down the service and the free app will only be available for download one more week. The paid app is no longer available for sale and there are no more updates planned. Paying customers are directed to a private page for further instructions.