0870 for iPhone and Android saves Brits money on 'national rate' calls

Here in the UK, there's phonecalls that are deemed 'national rate' - they're calls to a non-geographic number, and the cost of the call is a little more than you'd pay for a general phone call (as the name implies). The company which uses the 0870 number makes a small amount of money on every minute that you're connected to the number, and when you use an 0870 number on a mobile phone, the network providers add their own fees on the top of the number - making a £0.10 per-minute call into (for example) £0.35 per-minute. In short, it's a great big money-spinner for the service providers.

Since February this year, Android users have been able to use 0870, a free app that translates non-geographic numbers into their geographic alternative - allowing users to burn through their inclusive minutes instead of paying through the nose for 0870 calls. The application lets you enter the relevant 'national rate' number, uses the No To 0870 website to find a suitable alternative, and lets you call it.

Developer Simon Maddox has long hoped to build an iPhone version - and after over 400 days of back and forth (with Apple stating that iPhone carrier O2 had blocked the application) the app is now available for iPhone users too!

Both apps are free - the iPhone version is available here on the App Store, whilst Android users can simply search for '0870' in the Marketplace.

[Via The Daily Telegraph]

Tags: Android, App Store, AppStore, freeware, iPhone, Mobile, Rip-Off, Telcos