Gone are the days of using one phone number for each mobile device you use as wireless carriers are starting to allow their subscribers to use a single phone number for multiple handsets. AT&T was the first to take the step towards this revolution, introducing NumberSync (expected to become live on its first device in the upcoming holiday season), which basically allows the wireless carrier’s subscribers to apply their primary phone number to additional mobile devices, including tablets and even wearable devices such as smartwatches.
With AT&T taking the first step, others are sure to follow, including two other major wireless carriers in the United States, T-Mobile and Sprint, which are the third and fourth biggest network operators in America, respectively. Both wireless carriers have each officially revealed that they too are working on features that will let their respective subscribers use their primary smartphone’s phone number to take phone calls and text messages on other connected mobile devices, which include tablet devices and wearable devices like smartwatches.
Of course, this latest development in mobile is made possible with the giant leaps in technology that other mobile devices outside smartphones, like tablets and wearable devices, have achieved, especially with regards to having their own cellular radios. They now can essentially make full use of an existing cellular network in order to make calls or get online on the web without having to be connected to a primary smartphone.
As for mobile users, this offers loads of convenience -- having multiple mobile devices can be a chore, especially if you have to dedicate more than one phone number in order to take full advantage of their usefulness. Moreover, having this capability gives mobile users more reason to surround themselves with other mobile devices, now that they can connect them all with just one centralized phone number.
Just think of the possibilities. Left your smartphone at the office while you are going out getting a Starbucks? Not a problem if you brought along your connected smartwatch (say, LG's Watch Urbane Second Edition wearable device) -- you won’t be missing any phone calls or text messages, especially those important ones.
The great thing about this is that it will actually spur device makers to further innovate their products. All this talk of the Internet of Things is great and all, but with wireless carriers allowing people to use a single phone number for multiple devices will serve as the fabric that renders the idea of the Internet of Things practical.
