It's one thing to gain amusement by toying with telemarketers who call the home phone. It's quite another when those calls come into a cell phone, where they zap productivity and run up minutes. Addressing this problem is Mr. Number for Android, a free app that recognizes unwelcome phone numbers previously reported by other Mr. Number users as telemarketers, debt collectors or would-be spammers and instantly and permanently blocks them from the mobile device.
According to its developer, which also calls itself Mr. Number, the app currently hold about 70 percent of U.S. phone numbers, a result of Mr. Number users voluntarily adding numbers from their contact list in exchange for extra services.
Mr. Number replaces the default Android dialer and messaging apps, and it is quite capable of swiping quickly through a history of phone calls, text messages and picture messages. Any contacts also using Mr. Number can send and receive text messages among one another with receipts. Friends can also set and share their availability and voicemail and text preferences.
Mr. Number also contains a reverse phone lookup function. When punching in an unrecognized phone number, the app can provide the caller’s name, or at least their city and state. Mr. Number initially includes three free lookups. After that, lookups cost $0.99 for 20. The fee is waived for users willing to share their personal contact list with Mr. Number, which is where the company gets its caller ID data.
PUBLISHED SEPT. 4, 2012