Comcast announces web-based SmartZone communications center
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 7th 2007 1:50PM
posted May 7th 2007 1:50PM
While there's nothing all that unique about it, Comcast seems to be hoping that its just-announced SmartZone communications center will be enough to keep some of its customers from jumping ship. It'll let the company's 12 million high-speed Internet subscribers and 3 million digital phone subscribers access both their email and voicemail from a central website, and let 'em "experience" so-called visual voice mail, which includes things like a viewable call history and the ability forward voicemails as an email. Put together with the help of HP, Plaxo, and Zimbra, the service will also give you a centralized address book, instant messaging, and customizable news, weather, and other information. According to Reuters, Comcast is also hoping to integrate SmartZone with its TV service and Pivot cellphone service, which would certainly make it a tad more interesting. In the meantime, you can look for the standard web-based service to roll out "later this year," with it set to be available at no added cost to subscribers.[Via Reuters]
to confusing and not nearly enough info on how to maniulate around with it..and there on-line chat is not working..still waiting for an answer from them that I can understand...
Comcast just released this "upgrade" and has totally hosed my email management.
Almost all of my email management is done using my local Opera email client. You would think that Comcast's upgrade to webmail wouldn't affect this. Think again. I am now receiving a duplicate email downloaded for every email I've received over the past 6 months. For me that's over 1000 emails, and I have no automated way to delete the duplicates.
So I abort downloading all these duplicates, thinking I could go into webmail and trash the older emails so they wouldn't be available for downloading. Well, I couldn't even login to SmartZone for 4 hours this morning, then I got in and experienced horribly slow response times (minutes!). Then I moved a bunch of emails to the trash, just to have them reappear in my inbox!
All I want is for Comcast to offer a POP email server that works, with a simple webmail as a backup. Evidently, they can't even get that right.
I have the same problem with deleting e-mails now. Also my view of an e-mail is limited (short screen) and won't go full screen anymore. Hate it. Carol
Just wanted to agree. If it ain't broke - why fix it. Or try to fix it and end up with CRAP. I am totally fed up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have not been able to send emails, access my address book - cannot add a photo to save my life. Have spent hours on the phone trying to solve this, with no luck so far. Not to mention that EVERY single person I have spoken with seems to have a VERY limited understanding of the english language. I Have had nothing but problems since the day comcast took over - But being older, I unfortunantly am terrified of trying to change to a different server (not that I have a lot of choices) -
Comcast - Get your act together - You are messing with peoples livleyhoods here - do you plan to reimburse us all the money you have caused us to lose with your incompetence??
You guys remind me of the fast food industry - every week they think they have to come out with something newer and bigger and better then the next guy - when all we really want, is just a regular hamburger.
Well here is my two cents worth - for whatever it counts for.
this is the worst service i ever had smartzone is terrible canot forward pic in e- mail tried everything thinking about dupping this service for one that works
Ever since they switched to the new Email system I cannot delete old emails either. I also keep getting duplicates and then some. I don't even remember them ever notifiying me about this change? They didn't! I get frustrated daily with the new supposed uptodate program they think that they have. I wished they would have stuck with the old way, it was better? To me anyway. I don't know what they are trying to do today, because my emails keep messing up today. Not another update I hope???? From another frustrated customer that's thinking about Fios really seriously!
So, I turn on my laptop last night to check my email and much to my surprise it is a whole new format called "Smartzone" Also to my surprise there were 10 emails that had been sent throughout the day that I didn't know I had. I had been checking my email during the day on my desktop and it hasn't changed over. Doesn't make sense to me how one does and the other doesn't as it is the same account. To make things even more confusing I have one set of emails on the old version, and another on the new version.
I still can reply to the emails all the old version but on the new "Smartzone" I am not able to active my cursor in the message portion of the email when I want to reply!
I called Comcast and they said it would take 24 to 48 hours to change everything over, and then gave me a trouble ticket number and said someone would call me in 48 to 72 hours. Not much comfort!!!
An addition to my earlier comment. I'm still not able to access my comcast e-mail from my desk top. If smartzone is my new carrier why can I not get in my e-mail.
I had the same problem, and the airheads at comcast couldn't figure it out. When you log in, you are supposed to be redirected to smartzone and it's not working. Go to this address and log in. You'll be able to access your email. https://login.comcast.net/login?s=smartzone
SmartZone also screwed up my email and sent me about 5 duplicates for every 1 still saved on the POP server (my Mac Mail app checking for new mail every 10 minutes, so apparently they changed the unique message ID's on all the emails multiple times)... which left me with nearly 3000 unread duplicate emails!! UGH!!
Luckily, I had all my emails read up to that point. So to fix this, I sorted by Unread/Read mails and just deleted all Unread email and my mailbox is now back to normal.
I'm sure they'll hear from a lot of soon-to-be-former customers about this...
SmartZone???? What a piece of CRAP!!! It just screwed up the entire way I use e-mail. Terrible looking format, crappy looking desktop. Can't organize my address book. I am looking for another service. Any suggestions?
I agree!! Smartzone is not user friendly - I cannot access my other two comcast email accounts without logging out, and logging back in. My addresses disappeared as well. Much easier to switch between the three with the old format. Not happy with this change!! Crap is right!
I agree. I think this new change is hideous. I cannot access my email list so as to forward to multiple addresses. I have to click on the alphabet letters to get the email address. To add fuel to the fire, this dang using the alphabet causes multiple duplications. For example, it you hit "a" you get the people with "a" in thier first name and then again if their last name begins with " and so on. I hate this change. Talk about wanting to change servers!!!!!!!!!!!!
i agree smartzone is crap no one can get my pictures. adress book sucks comcast needs to get rid of it or looze alot of customers including me.
I can't deal with the SmartZone either... it's more like the Smart-Alec Zone... they think they're pretty tricksy, but they've set email back to the horse and buggy days.
They did me a favor though... I did a bit of shopping and found Cricket offers an anywhere internet access for a monthly fee of $40. You need to buy the wireless modem that is like a fat wireless card that plugs in where your wireless card would go. It is about $185 -but they are running a sale where they give your $96 off right away and a $50 rebate plus $25 off your first month's bill. No contract, cancel anytime. So, you are not chained to within a couple hundred feet of your modem and your are less liable to be kicked off the internet 5 times a day and all you need to do is get a g-mail email.
So, all in all it's cheaper and no ongoing head-aches and head-trips that you get with comcast. I don't want their big brother digital TV either... so I'm saving all kinds of money.
It STINKS !!! It looks like Yahoo Mail. I like the old system better
Yes, it does STINK plus it doesn't work! I'm looking for some help and trying to find a way to get back to my old system. Good luck to all of us. Penny
i think we whom pay for comcast should have the choice of weather we want it this way[smartzone] or if we want it back the other way. not every one who uses a computer are young, their are older people using it also, and prefer it the way it was. you have just made things so complcated. we should have had a choice as to weather we wanted it to changed or not, after all with what we're paying each month for this, it should be our choice. not i want you to change it back the way it was, it was much easier to work with, no wonder customers are dropping you and going eles ware, and i would like for you to give me an answer.
I agree, the old system was working just fine. I wish they had asked if we wanted to change to this new system - which SUCKS! I wish they would tell us how to change back to our old system. Best of luck. Penny
I agree, the old system was working just fine. I wish they had asked if we wanted to change to this new system - which SUCKS! I wish they would tell us how to change back to our old system. Best of luck. Penny
I agree, the old system was working just fine. I wish they had asked if we wanted to change to this new system - which SUCKS! I wish they would tell us how to change back to our old system. Best of luck. Penny
I totally agree with all those who commented they did not like SmartZone. It is very difficult to use and there are no instructions. I called Comcast 5 times this evening in order to find out how to navigate it. There are more steps to it and it's a chore to use it. I think Comcast is going to lose many customers by making this change.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's been "Smartzone". I've been accessing my Comcast email via the web for ages and now... I can't get anything to open at all. I login and when it's supposed to open SmartZone, the page is completely blank - no error message or anything. Even going in through XpressMail and retrieving the update notifications and following the link to contact them... go figure - that page won't load either because... it's in SmartZones!!!!
I hope they have a solution SOON. I really don't want to go to the hassle of notifying all my contacts that my email has changed.
Grrrrr
Smartzone is really dumbzone for us customers. I can't access my secondary accounts without first logging out and then back in and my favorite email list is gone. I called comcast twice, once I was told that nothing could be done. The other time I was sent on an odyssey to change my pop server on outlook express. Never mind that I do not want to use outlook. I was disconnected before this process was completed. Next I tried to use the tutorial and help section of dumbzone. It would not load no matter how long I let it grind away.
This is not acceptable, I will be forced to leave (never to return) if this situation is not corrected. This includes my comcast phone and television service. I have heard great things about DirectTV.
My sister has Direct TV for years and loves it but she doesnt have a computer. I never heard of them offering Internet Services. Doesnt satellite tv have problems when its windy out? I heard of complaints about that...jo
James is right. if you have multiple email addresses under one account - you used to be able to see email form all of them. Now with Smartzone you can only see one at a time, and have to log out and log in with another ID to see that ID's emails. They help file says they may add multiple email support in the future...
Comcast seems to screw up everything they touch.
Well, comcast did it again. Logged on this morning and saw that the SmartZone was installed last night and this morning I cant open up one email. The email box said I had 11 new emails and when I tried logging in later it said I had 550 emails! I keep getting a blank page or an error page. Is this the new great system Comcast has been telling us about? They could keep it. Its just another problem they have dropped on their paying customers and we don't have a choice.
Comcast is the only broadband provider in my area and I don't want DSL. I keep waiting for Verizon Fios to come by me but I don't think its coming, at least not soon. I hate to call Comcast on the phone and get put on hold then talk to some rude c/s rep. I am sending them a message telling them I am not paying my internet charge for the time I couldnt access my email account. If you want to complain about them you can always go to my3cents.com or complaintboard.com
Comcast helped me!
If you still cant get your email, log into IE, clean out your cache, delete first your cookies and then your files and log out. Log back in and you should be able to get your emails now.
I did! Works both in IE and FF.
Thanks to Frank at Comcast! Problem solved.................jo
Normally cookies are there for a purpose. Clearing them out may cause you to lose other information. Does Comcast think they own the world? They sure as hell don't own my computer and I'll keep cookies when I want.
"Smartzone" is dumb and non-user friendly. It's terrible- worthless. Small type, confusing commands.. It's infuriating trying to figure out how to forward, how to enlarge the screen, how to use the drafts....everything is a backwards move from the former format. . What the heck was wrong with the former format?!?!?!? Why not leave well enough alone??!?!?!? Why do these perfectly fine systems have to be replaced and tampered with?
I'm mad.
Dear Sir I would like to be removed from that program because it is very hard for me to get my email from there ok. thank you very much Ellen Rosenthal
What the ^%^$%$%^$^????? They should call it 'Dumbzone'. Functionality is lost and it's harder to use. This is not a step forward. What a piece of garbage. Maybe it was 'designed' offshore? The project manager for this should be fired or at least have their ass handed to them. Enhanced bassakwards.
Hi,
Can anyone help me to make the Smartzone fonts bigger permanently. I can hardly make a distiinction form what just came in and what has already been read..
Is there anyone who can actually use the new Spell Check for e-mail. (The new Spell check has a faint red line under some of the words) but how do you know how to correct it. Now have to put every piece of e-mail in Word, then spell check it and drop it back into Smartzone.
Help, Help.
Please Comcast give us back our old screens for our e-mail, because they really,really worked.
Try pressing cntrl and then clicking the plus key until the font size increases.
changing default font
click on "preferences" tab
click on "composing" tab
scroll to "format email"
change default font, size, color
hope this works
monkey
I agree that we did not need a change. How do I access my secondary accounts.
I receive the messages by checking the forwarding box. But cannot find out how to send a message.
Help. Why must I call India and wait for an answer?
I DO NOT like SmartZone........It took me several minutes to figure out that my new mail was in a totally different section that is not titled "Inbox".....There are no instructions on how to use SmartZone - and if I am persistant enough to try long enough to get my e-mail thru Comcast's site, SmartZone does not have all the incoming mail(even in SZ's secret hiding place) that the Comcast site shows???Why????....Someone in a nice office has been 'sales pitched' into this "better" system and in my opinion IT'S THE WORST thing Comcast has done lately.....But, after 34days of wrangling with talking heads as to why my service could not be restored after hurricane Ike I guess I shouldn't be surprised..I was trying to get my phone service reconnected......Get this the one person I actually hung up on (which ordinarilly I don't do because it is so rude) told me that the technician could not come out to correct my problem because I had an outage!!!! Another told me that they were sorry my phone was out, but internet and tv connections are considered "entertainment".... I kid you not....Take heart, maybe the lightbulb will come on in someone's mind!!!!
Disappointed about how SmartZone looks??? I can't even get it to load. I keep getting the old mailcenter. I have cleared my cache, cookies, even restored all my setting to default and nothing but a long wait and then "page not available". Back and forth with Comcast x 3 has gotten me nowhere. This on 3 different computers (XP, Win 2000, and Vista)....
this is a disaster i want the old system back now what i'm paying is too much all i 'm getting is veryupset can't pull up attachments forward emails the list goes on what were you all thinking ?very unhappy and frustrated please straighten this mess out immediately
This bites. I'm overseas on business and I've been accessing my Comcast e-mail through webmail on a shared computer. So today I log on, get redirected to "SmartZone", and guess what, no access. All I get is a blank screen with "Loading..." displayed at the bottom and a pop-up "Error: 'ZmErrorDialog' is undefined". I'm using IE, cleared the cache and cookies to no avail. I'm switching ISPs as soon as I get home. I can't depend on Comcast.
I have the exact problem that occurs only on the computer at work.
It got fixed for two days after clearing cache, browsing history, etc...
But I am back to the same problem. Very frustrating...
I am totally disgusted with SmartZone. Since Comcast pushed it through 1 1/2 weeks ago, my computer has had a trojan virus which appeared almost simultaneously with the "push." The computer was 2 weeks old at that time and had to have the operating system rebuilt. Some may call it coincidence but the cause and effect connection with the timing is hard to ignore.
Also my junk mail has increased 10 - fold since this "upgrade." I had a less than satisfactory chat with a comcast technician today and now have a help desk ticket number tp acknowledge that there is a problem.
I am not happy with the SmartZone...Why do you mess with something that already works...Pleaase get rid of it, or tell me how to get rid of it, without going to anothr server...
I HATE THE NEW SMARTZONE!! I CANNOT FIGURE OUT HOW IT WORKS, I CANNOT SEND AN EMAIL, TELL ME HOW TO DO IT PLEASE...IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN GO BACK TO THE OLD EMAIL SYSTEM??? I DON"T USE MY COMPUTER AS MUCH AS A LOT OF PEOPLE AND I"M 65 YEARS OLD AND DON"T LIKE CHANGE WHEN IT IS NOT REQUIRED..
Smartzone isn't. I just logged in, read the one email that it showed. When I refreshed the page to check for more emails, the only email I had completely disappeared! Why can't it just keep my emails?? You read your email and it is automatically deleted from Smartzone?? Glad I also use Outlook at home so my emails are safe. This is total BS and completely unusable.
i hated the change over as well. however, now that i have played around with it, i am finally able to perform tasks i couldn't before, such as placing photos within emails and coloring text without writing code.
as far as accessing additional comcast accounts, you do not have to sign out and log back in. each account must be added as a pop account through the "email manager" located in the "preferences" tab. type in all login info and passwords. set email server to "mail.comcast.net" once this is done, the email accounts will show with a globe icon in the left panel of the mail box manager where inbox is located.
see comcast help pages for additional info
How do I add an external email account such as Gmail, AOL, etc. to the SmartZone Communications Center?
To add an external email account:
1. Click on the Preferences tab
2. Select the Email Manager tab
3. Click on Add External Account
4. Fill out the necessary information: Account Name, Email Address, Account Type - either POP3 or IMAP, Email Server, Username of Account, and Password.
hope this helps!
monkey
Problem with this is that it is not a solution. Each screen name can have folders, but this 'solution' does not allow you to access the secondary accounts. when you do log into the account, the emails are still in the inbox whether or not you have deleted them. It is just a way to see the emails in those accounts, but you cannot do anything with them other than read them.
Smartzone stinks...When I log in, I can get my email, but if I go back to my home page and then click email to go back to it, I get a blank page. I have to sign out and then sign back in. Also, it says some of my emails are too big to open - never had that problem before. ALSO, when I hit "reply" to answer an email, it won't let me type in the message area....
You're lucky...... I can't even get my emails. When I log in SmartZone says I have x number of mails. Clicking on that message or my inbox comes up with "no results found". Clicking the browser back button then tells me I have zero emails. Great system Comcast. Fire the fool that came up with the pathetic email system.
I can't stand SmartZone. You have just shut me down. I can't e-mail out. It's not user friendly. My address book is really messed up. If I try to e-mail a group and one address is wrong (or has changed) it won't send to the rest of the group. Help!!!!!