If you’ve seen this commercial for the Apple iPhone you probably noticed two iPhones exchanging information by being bumped together. It’s an application called, reasonably enough, Bump. And it’s far from the only way to exchange contact information without using traditional business cards.

With so much innovation surrounding what has become known as the “Real Time Web” it isn’t surprising that someone came up with an online alternative to exchanging business cards. What may be surprising is how many alternatives are out there, and how quickly they have caught on with mainstream business users. For proof, look no further than this article on CNN.com, which claims that there are more than 20 such applications and takes a look at eight of them, including Bump.

We have been experimenting (OK, playing) with a couple of these applications and haven’t settled on one yet. We actually like Bump’s technology but we don’t like to think about what happens after an over-enthusiastic bump (hint: it’s not covered by insurance). beamME is another app that exchanges info using an iPhone. It lets you beam without the bump. And since we are talking about iPhone apps, the iPhone’s contact manager lets you share information via email or MMS – no third-party application required.

Awww!

Our sentimental favorite is Poken, which is also mentioned in the CNN article. It isn’t very corporate-looking and has some technical hurdles to overcome but it’s a great conversation starter. It’s also a whole lot cuter than any business card we’ve ever seen. Will the Poken ever replace the business card here at Zavee? Probably not, but we just can’t keep our hands off the little pandas, ninjas and geishas.

Poken Pulse

Perhaps with a nod to that commercial reality, Poken has just come out with a product targeted to business users called the Pulse. It looks very stylish (if not as wildly adorable as the original) and we can’t wait to try one out. By the way, if you are interested in the Poken – or just want to see how a business can be built almost exclusively using social media – it’s worth checking out Poken Girl, a young entrepreneur who is a Poken distributor in South Florida.

So, trendy gizmo or the future of information exchange? Give some of these business card alternatives a try and let us know what you think in the comments.