• by Aaron Baar , January 23, 2009

Over the past few years, much attention has been lavished on cellular phones and their many applications, from email to calendars to Internet accessibility. In the coming weeks, Verizon Wireless will try to bring some of that flash to the lowly home phone with the launch of its new Verizon Hub.

Simply put, the Hub is a Voice over Internet Protocol system that allows multiple connections--from cellular phone to Internet--between family members to manage multiple communications, contacts and calendars that are accessible to all via one central connection. It also includes an easy-to-navigate touchscreen and the ability to customize information such as traffic updates, calendar adjustments and movie trailers through its Internet connection.

"Home phones have changed over time, but it's been a slow evolution," company representative Jeffrey Nelson tells Marketing Daily. "This is a meteor hitting the Earth to set the stage for a giant revolution."

The Hub, which will be available nationwide on Feb. 1, will run on any broadband connection regardless of the provider. However, only Verizon Wireless customers will be able to use the device's true functionality, which will include simultaneous ringing on wireless handsets, text-message calendar alerts and Web accessibility. Thus, the product will only be sold to current or new Verizon Wireless customers. "The great value is the interconnectivity between the Hub and Verizon Wireless handsets," Nelson says. "[Otherwise] you're going to get a crappy experience."

With more Americans dropping their landlines and/or adopting VoIP services, Verizon Wireless is hoping that offering a game-changing device will bring more customers its way. "There's a mega-trend out there where people are cutting that [landline] cord. This is a great replacement for a land line," Nelson says. "And as VoIP continues to grow, we wanted to have a great experience to take advantage of it."

Initial marketing efforts for the Hub will be limited to in-store displays, including a Hub-dedicated wall in all of the company's 2,600 company-operated stores and kiosks across the United States. The company is also planning a "sizable" advertising campaign in the near future, although Nelson would not offer specifics.