Newber plans 'second number' app for iPhone, possibly Android

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pending Apple's approval, an iPhone app will let you redirect business calls to voice mail when you're out with friends, while letting personal calls through. But the manufacturer is also eyeing Android and Windows Mobile.

Instead of depending completely on whichever mobile phone is in your pocket, what about making the phone number itself "mobile"? An application first built to do just that is still being considered by Apple's App Store -- and start-up FreedomVOICE Systems is now thinking very seriously about versions of its Newber software for other mobile platforms.

Newber was recently further developed to let you assign business and personal phone calls to separate phone numbers on the same phone, noted Nick Gowdy, strategic marketing and communications specialist, in a meeting with BetaNews at this week's CES Unveiled press event.

Unlike some App Store applicants, FreedomVOICE is not a long-time Apple development partner. But Chris Nikkel, Newber's "chief innovator," initially created the software to take advantage of the iPhone's GPS.

On October 30, FreedomVOICE issued a press release stating that it had resubmitted its application to the App Store, after having heard "very little" since the original submission of the app. Gowdy told BetaNews this week that his company is currently working closely with Apple to try to bring the app to market.

As first conceived, the software's "Newber number" would ring by default to the iPhone. Yet it wouldn't replace the iPhone's existing phone number, which would still be able to take calls.

If a user wanted a solid landline connection for a particular phone call -- to avoid garbling or the chance of a dropped call, for instance -- the Newber software could be asked to send calls coming in on the Newber number to another nearby phone. Newber uses a mix of GPS, cellular positioning, and Wi-Fi to automatically detect phones in the area as defined by the user.

Later in the product's development, FreedomVOICE discovered a way to turn off the provided phone number. Now, by using this number as their primary business number, users can send business calls directly to voice mail, for example, while still letting calls from friends and family through.

Another recently added feature, known as contact finder, lets you sequentially dial a contact's various phone numbers in an order that you pre-select. Users can also "switch phones" during a live conversation without interrupting the call, according to Gowdy.

FreedomVOICE entered beta with is new software app on September 10. While awaiting an okay from Apple, the company is also looking seriously into developing the software for other platforms, according to Gowdy, including Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows Mobile.