The word vanity is defined as “excessive pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit”. If there is one thing many people take more pride in than they probably should it is their cell phones. Phones have become in the 21st century what an awesome car was in the 20th century. Consumers spend billions of dollars per year on accessories and other items to personalize, customize, and “trick out” their smartphones. However, Sprint is now offering the ultimate vanity service with their new StarStar Me service.
StarStar Me from Sprint is a new service where for an extra $2.99 per month, customers can now get a personalized phone number of their choosing (when available) by dialing ** and the vanity number of their choosing. For example, StarStar Me would allow people to reach me by dialing **27388 or **BRETT. Users can choose a StarStar Me number between five to ten digits long. This new service is made possible by Sprint’s partnership with Zoove, a company who currently owns millions of these “StarStar” numbers.
The StarStar Me service also has a free smartphone app that allows subscribers to customize their ring options, text responses, contact info, as well as linking to their social media accounts. Sprint is the only carrier offering the StarStar Me service, but Zoove CEO Joe Gillespie told AllThingsD in a recent interview he expects to have the service available for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers by the first quarter of 2013. Customers on other carriers can still sign up for a StarStar number through Zoove’s website directly, but at this time won’t have the luxury of carrier billing. Zoove also offers a free 7-day or 50 calls (whichever comes first) trial for you to try the service out yourself.
This certainly is a vanity affair for most consumers, albeit a fun one. It’s certainly more productive than those awful ringback tones, or other premium services offered by carriers. For businesses, it certainly could be a great way to get information to people for marketing campaigns. So if you’re vein, and proud of it, or a business looking for an inexpensive way to grow your brand, StarStar Me may be a great idea to check out.
