O2, the british mobile phone carrier, have recently released their “Tu Go” application for smartphones, tablets and computers. The main principal behind their app, and what makes it stand out from the crowd, is the way that you can send text messages and make phone calls from your other devices connected to WiFi (or 3G) - with your mobile phone number. This service is similar to Skype’s premium service in which you are allocated a phone number and can take calls and compose texts from your PC or mobile device, except that your phone number is the same as your mobile phone’s number.

Another clever feature with O2′s latest app, is that it deducts credit, minutes and texts from your O2 account or contract, so there is no need to top up or be worried about overspending. The service is essentially like dropping your phones SIM card into a tablet, or a computer. The only drawback however, is that only Pay Monthly users (users with a contract) can use this service. I, for example, have a contract with O2 for my BlackBerry Curve 9320, and I would definitely find it useful to be able to access and send messages on my iPad Mini, or my laptop. However for some phones, there is already a competing market built my the manufacturer. In my case, my mobile phone has the service BlackBerry Messenger, which I find myself using a lot more often than SMS texting, resulting in the service not being as effective for me.

O2 Release "Tu Go" App

Although O2 is only a British carrier, we’d love to know all of your feedback in the comments. Let us know if you’d find a use for Tu Go, and why. If you live in the states or anywhere else, would you like to have access to a similar thing? Do you have one already? Drop us a line in the comments section.