Comcast Updates Web E-Mail Service

Comcast is partnering with several companies including HP, Plaxo and Zimbra to provide its customers with a centralized Web communications application to manage the company's ever-growing offerings.

Comcast customers will be able to send and receive e-mail, check their voicemail, manage a "smart" address book, and send instant messages. The company hopes to have the application live later this year, saying it will be accessible via the company's online portal.

"With the SmartZone communications center, we continue to provide superior value to Triple Play customers by putting a suite of communications tools right at their fingertips," Comcast product development chief Greg Butz said.

Plaxo will provide the technology behind Comcast's new address book, while Zimbra assists in the design of the e-mal and Visual Voice Mail services. HP, meanwhile, will provide the infrastructure needed for the backend of the product.

Comcast also plans to include safety and security features, including e-mail anti-abuse technology from Bizanga, anti-spam and anti-phishing technology from Cloudmark, and antivirus software from Trend Micro.

The reasoning behind Comcast's latest moves is primarily money, says Internet pundit Om Malik. "Carriers have also realized that they need to attract more users to their Web sites, and earn some advertising dollars," he writes for GigaOm.