Sprint will be the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer its customers the mobile equivalent of a vanity license plate: a StarStar Me number.
StarStar Me numbers are special phone numbers that start with "star star" and use five to 10 digits to spell out whatever the user wants: their name, favorite team, etc. When people call the number, they just dial "star star" and then the custom number.
So, for example, if COMPLEX made one, the number would be "**266739." The call can be sent to a user's phone like a regular call or handled with the StarStar app which can send the caller an audio or text message response.
The service will run Sprint customers an extra $3 a month. The company behind it, Zoove, plans to offer the service to all major U.S. carriers by the end of 2013.
We've yet to use the service, but paying an extra $3 for a custom phone number seems ridiculous. Especially when we barely talk on the phone as it is, and usually text, email, or DM people with who we need to get in contact. Something about it all seems very 2000-ish.
And, yo, more importantly, think of all the douchey numbers people are going to create.
[via All Things D]
