In February, based on pre-launch information about the Hub, Verizon Wireless' first entry into the home phone market, I predicted that it would be a "game changer" -- a product that changes the way people use their home phone.

Now that I've had the chance to work with a Hub for several weeks, I feel confident that my prediction could come true. The Hub, although not perfect, ushers in a new paradigm for home phones -- where the differences between home phones and cell phones fade away and the features that we've been seeing on our cell phones become commonplace at home too.

The Hub is actually an IP phone -- using your home broadband Internet connection instead of a standard landline or cell service, so you need a broadband Internet connection to use it. It doesn't need to be a Verizon broadband connection; any cable, FIOS, or DSL connection should do the trick, from any vendor.

Think of the Hub as the hub of your communication activities with your family while they're out carrying their cell phones. It's half the size of your laptop computer, has a much bigger, easier-to-read display than your cell phone, and is always available at your home.

The always-on display lets you touch items with your finger to activate them, including a nice bright on-screen keyboard. You can use the screen to pick up your voicemail and play messages in any order. The display also gives you easy access to lots of features, like the weather forecast, your contact list and calendar. When it's not being used for other things, you can have it show your favorite home photos, just like a digital photo frame.

The Hub has a built-in speaker phone that works pretty well, or you can pick up the wireless handset.

Having a text-capable base station at home is a wonderful thing. You can reach your family when they're in noisy environments in which they wouldn't be able to easily talk. And you can send texts to multiple people, saving the time of trying to reach each one individually. This is particularly appealing with the Hub's nice large display.

You can connect it to the Internet using a standard network cable or wireless connection. But I wouldn't put it in your bedroom, because the designers didn't give you the option to turn off the bright screen.

Verizon Wireless makes a big deal out of the Hub's ability to tune in Internet radio stations. But this isn't a reason to buy the Hub. The sound is worse than an average transistor radio from 1963. Within five minutes of tuning in Internet radio, every member of my family pleaded with me to turn it off because it hurt their ears.

Verizon Wireless designed the Hub so it can only send text messages to other Verizon Wireless phones. This will probably keep the Hub from becoming the standard home phone -- because you can't control which cellular carrier is being used by all your associates. But as a way to keep your own family connected, it's a great performer.

You'll need both the phone ($200 with contract) and service at $35 a month.