The future... buying drinks on your phone

I have to admit that I am completely addicted to my smartphone. When I find it getting close to running out of battery, I start to get a little frantic. Because I use it so much, I can often think of situations that would be better served with an app on my phone - so imagine my joy when I was presented with a life changing app that I hadn't even considered!

Meeting some friends in The Plough on London's Museum Street I found that the triangular cardboard advert had some more exciting news that usual. The Plough were piloting a new app called Orderly, which allows you to choose your drinks from the comfort of your seat and avoid the crush at the bar.

The app is a web app, so you don't need to download anything before you order, and the free wifi in the pub means that it works however strong your signal. Reception amongst my friends was mixed, with some finding it exciting and some prefering to walk to the bar.

Orderly is only on limited release trial at the moment, but Know, who are the digital agency behind it, plan to expand the system in 2013. I see a lot of technological innovations, but this is one of those that I think will be commonplace within a few years.