In the few months I lived across the pond (where prepaid phone plans are more popular than contracts, go figure), I learned something important about adding credit to your plan, or “topping up” as the Brits would say: it’s a pain in the arse.
Some carriers let you add credit by sending a text, which is pretty awesome, but the more options customers have the better. That said, Boost Mobile is launching a new Facebook app called Re-Boost which will let customers add credit straight from the social network.
The ability to refill your account from Facebook is actually quite awesome, but then the app gets a little strange. Since it’s on Facebook and thus intertwined in your digital relationship playground, you can elicit the help of friends to fill up your mobile account. That’s more of a blast, shooting out a request for more credit to the entirety of your Facebook network.
If that sounds as embarrassing to you as it does to me (but you still happen to need a friend’s help topping up), the Re-Boost app also lets you send a request to specific friends to help you add credit. Of course, with all the various methods of taking from your friends, Boost found it necessary to add some form of giving functionality. That way you can pay back all the friends that have been supporting your mobile lifestyle.
All in all this sounds like a great idea, though all the networking throws me for a loop a bit. You can check out the app now by logging into Facebook, searching “Boost,” and choosing the Re-Boost application.