Rogers One Number is a game changer!

Being totally wired in a wireless age is a huge responsibility. Being wired really just refers to being in touch with everything and everyone. It can and often does mean we have multiple points of contact — our mobile phone, home phone, and computer all converge to keep us connected through services like email, SMS texting, Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, FaceTime, Twitter, and on and on.

We need to develop ways to reduce the number of check-in points, if we want to be more effective. After all, it can take a long time just to “check your messages” and it is easy to let something slip through the cracks!

Rogers has just released Rogers One Number, which is designed to give us a single number people can reach us on regardless of which device we are using.

It is really a simple concept, If you are a Rogers Mobility subscriber, you enroll in the service from your computer. You then install the Rogers One Number app (Both Mac and PC). A menu bar icon appears, and you log into your account on your computer.

Now a bit of magic happens, as you receive a phone call (on your mobility account) the call rings simultaneously on both your phone and computer. You can answer it on your computer and complete the call. If you do this, you do not use any minutes on your plan. The quality — excellent!

It gets better. You can make calls from your computer anywhere in Canada, and yes, the calls are free, no minutes count on your plan, and no long distance charges.

And it gets better still. You can transfer your call on the fly from phone to computer, computer to phone.

And you can download a syncing app to your mobile phone. Now all your contacts sync, so your phone book is on both your computer (in the app) and your phone.

And it gets better! (I am just copying and pasting that sentence!) You can log onto the Rogers One account through a web browser so you can use it even when you are not on “your” computer.

As you can probably tell, I am a big fan. The idea of a “Unified” number has been a goal of mobility carriers for some time. This is the first really universal and easy instance I have seen, and it is rolled out in a very nice and accessible form.

If you have a Rogers account install this app now, do not wait — do it immediately! It is a big game changer on the mobility front.

Steve Dotto is Canada’s most respected geek. For over 15 years, as host and executive producer of Dotto Tech, a nationally syndicated TV show, Steve has entertained and educated millions of Canadians on all aspects of technology. Steve has a passion for understanding the social impact of technology. His DVD Cybersafe with Steve Dotto , teaches parents and caregivers about the opportunities, dangers and challenges of social networking.