Textfree is one of a handful of mobile texting apps that you can find in Apple's App store, Gogii's TextPlus<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10256199-233.html> among the higher-ranked ones. But only Textfree (for now anyway) hands out an actual phone number, which can later be ported as required by law<http://news.cnet.com/Phone-carriers-brace-for-service-swapping-rush/2100-1037_3-5110802.html>. Other apps send texts from an e-mail or short code. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20012720-94.html -- "Humility grows a little more each time i genuinely listen to the experience of another human being". Brahma Kumaris