The Hub, Verizon's attempt to turn the home phone into a virtual communications center, will soon come with an apps market, following a trend among mobile phone makers such as Apple to open up to third-party applications.
The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company has been selling the Hub, a "smarter" home phone with a touch screen and Web add-ons like weather and traffic reports, since February.
Verizon said it sees the applications market as a new revenue stream to attract new types of users with applications as Internet radio.
The plans aim at broadening its market as U.S. consumers increasingly disconnect their landlines to save money in the global financial crisis.
Besides launching the applications market, Verizon is also taking away a condition that Hub buyers have to be Verizon Wireless customers.
"We're in the process of getting rid of that restriction," said John Gravel, a Verizon product manager. "Why would you limit anyone from using this?"
Application stores have become a hot topic in mobile industry since Apple launched its App Store for iPhone last summer. Google and Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, have followed with their own application stores.
The Hub app market launch date has not been set but Gravel said it will be ready to go live sometime this year.
