Here’s a new take on an old business—create an iPhone-like experience for landlines, and maybe you’ll keep a few customers. Embarq, Sprint’s (NYSE: S) old landline company, is unveiling today a broadband-powered home phone featuring bells and whistles that may appeal to the wireless crowd, reports Dow Jones. The company said the cordless phone will be called eGo. The phone’s features will include visual voice-mail, allowing customers to scroll and skip through messages, and it will have an online phone book with a local business search feature.

The story said although the phone is more high-tech, it still won’t come close to the iPhone or a Blackberry. But you wonder if a whole new industry can evolve from a smarter landline phone? What about advertising for local business search, or ringtones, wallpapers, or other content for personalization? Maybe not. Home phones are typically shared by a family, so there’s no desire for personalization, and there’s likely a computer nearby, eliminating the need for another place to locate listings.