Lorena Mcallister: Message Center

[#1]

I personally do not use Verizon webmail. I use Gmail for my personal mail, and before that, I used MSN/Hotmail (an account I originally created with Verizon DSL in 2004).

Why?

This is 2011. ISPs like Verizon may offer a fairly strong webmail package, but it simply is not up to the standards set by Gmail, et al.

Simply offering POP synchronization is a joke. I would expect, at a minimum, IMAP support. I have an Android phone and so email is an integral part of that experience. Verizon (to my knowledge) currently offers no support for two-way email synchronization, contacts sync, or calendar sync. These are pretty basic featuers offered by Gmail on Android, or by Hotmail thru ActiveSync.

Why not outsource your webmail product to Google or Microsoft, like many organizations and universities are doing? If Outlook Web App or Gmail are superior products, maybe Verizon should stick to what it does best, delivering high-quality video, voice, and data services. (I would say the same thing about Google's foray into fiber in Kansas City, but they proved me wrong with Android).

Just my $.02.

[#2]

Dear ekem015,

I appreciate your candid feedback and suggestion!

We will certainly assess the option of IMAP email support vis a vis the other enhancements we have planned for this year.

Our Verizon Message Center is our new email application that includes some new features like Calendar, Call Log and Visual Voicemail for Verizon Call Assistant customers. We expect to further integrate it with other Verizon products to make your email experience a very rich one. Additionally,  it is integrated with My Verizon, our Verizon portal.

Thank you again for your feedback.

[#3]

Hi Lorena and thank you for the reply.

In terms of the call log and voicemail features, I'm afraid Verizon may be a little behind the curve on that one. I don't think it's any secret that residential landline subscribers are on the decline (at least from a second derivative standpoint). While those features are nice, how much do customers actually use them? I can pick up my cell phone and get a call log and visual voicemail. I probably don't even need a Verizon landline; I might get one or two calls a week on it. And I'm sure I'm not alone on that one.

Of course, this is all from a macro perspective and not true to the point of this Ask the Expert session. But again, just my $.02!