It's a familiar hassle to open a bar tab and then, when you're finally ready to make your graceful exit, have to lean over the bar gesticulating madly in the hopes of closing your tab and getting your credit card safely back into your wallet.

Recently a slew of establishments have updated that archaic system to give your card immediately back upon opening a tab. There's no waiting to close out if you don't want to, and there's no danger of forgetting your card, but your final charge amount is at the bartender's discretion.

So The Owl is taking convenience one step further with TabbedOut, a mobile application for iPhones and Droids that allow users to open and close their bar tabs (and decide what they want to tip) via their smartphones.

Owl owner Stephen Clarke says payment basically works like an iTunes account. The application links to a bank account or credit card line to pay the establishment; if you forget to close out, the bar does it for you the same way they would if you'd left a card. The app will even text you in the morning to let you know the tab was closed and how much you spent.

The system was developed in Austin, where at least 30 establishments now offer the mobile option. The Owl is the first bar in Houston to offer it. The inventors will be in town Friday night for The Owl's launch event, sponsored by Malibu Rum.

Patrons who opt to download the app get their second drink free, with the guys on hand to show you how to use it. If, like me, your Blackberry doesn't support such progress, you can still hang around for $3 summer punch.