In fall 2008 at CTIA, or more specifically at one of the satellite shows, I met with representatives of a company called Newber. They were writing an application for the iPhone. A little like GrandCentral, Newber provides users with a VOIP phone number, and the application redistributes calls received by that number to whatever number you want, such as to a land line or an iPhone.
I participated in the beta for the software, liking it on the whole when compared with GrandCentral, but not enough to pay the monthly fee once the software and service got approval from Apple‘s App Store.
Back in November, I got notice that the beta was officially ending, but we testers could keep using it until the App Store launch. I uninstalled the beta and moved on, figuring I would blog a little about it once it officially launched.
Today, it occurred to me that I hadn’t heard anything about the software for a long time. Checking Newber’s site, I learned why: It still has not been approved, 125 days and counting.
Check out the little ticker on Newber’s homepage that counts out its pain, day by day.
The good news is that Newber now has a BlackBerry beta in the hopper too. If the company’s lucky, RIM’s App Store validation will not be nearly as onerous.