Google+ Habgout first impression

Neither Babble nor Babel, Google
has finally named its much-talked
about cross-platform messaging
app as Hangouts. By the look of it,
Hangouts appears to be a perfect
combo of Google’s cool
communication features, all
brought under one roof. With the
likes of iMessage, WhatsApp, Skype
and several other instant/social
messaging apps, though late, the
company has given its messaging
platform a much-needed facelift.
Basically, Google has merged its
key communication channels such
as Google+ Hangouts, Voice, Google
Talk and the Google+ Messenger.
Here’s a quick look at what
Google’s new unified cross-
messaging platform is all about.
Easy to navigate UI
Firstly, you can download the new
Hangouts app from the Play Store.
It may state “already installed”, as
Hangouts is nothing but an
enhanced replacement for your
GTalk. However, simply clicking on
“Open” from your mobile Google
Play Store may not be of any help.
To get the new Hangouts, try
downloading it from your desktop
using the same Google account as
on your mobile device – it did work
for us. On downloading the app,
the new Hangouts logo will replace
your GTalk icon. The app will then
ask you to key in the name of your
country and mobile number. The
user interface is really neat and
simple to navigate. The two-paged
interface lets you choose people
from your Circle, GTalk and phone
contacts to initiate a chat. You can
search for the contact using name,
email, number or circle.
Spruced instant messaging
The app adds a lot of emoticons to
instant text messaging, just like
WhatsApp. The instant messaging
interface of Google+ has been
slightly tweaked. The camera icon
placed on the left side lets you
either click an image and send it
right away or select images from
the gallery. The video chat option
is right on the top, which lets you
begin a Hangout any time during
the course of the conversation.
Obviously, you’ve been tied to
Google+ for video chats, which also
shows Google’s desperate attempts
at forcing its social networking site
on us.
Google+ Hangouts unchanged
Google has diligently branded the
messaging app “Hangouts", the
most popular aspect of Google+.
You will find all features of “Google
+ Hangouts” including Group
Hangout that allows video chatting
with up to 9 people. It allows a
Hangout participant (who hasn’t
initiated the Hangout) to add
other members, shows other
participants as small tiles and
automatically focuses on the
person talking. Moreover, you can
enter a Hangout from your
computer and Android or Apple
devices. Currently, the availability
of the app for Android varies with
devices, but Google plans to make
it available for any Android device
running on Android 2.3 and above.
The app has also been launched
on iTunes for devices running on
iOS 6.1 or above.
Hangouts stay in sync across
devices so you can start or
continue them anywhere. With
options like archives and history,
you can view what you talked
about in the past, including
photos and video call history.
Once you see a Hangouts alert on
your device, you won’t see repeats
on your computer or other Android
devices. There is also an option to
snooze notifications for up to 72
hours.
Great choice for those who
frequent Google+ Hangouts
Google has slightly tweaked its
Google+ Messaging app, but hasn’t
improved or added new functions
to the “Google+ Hangouts” at all.
The video chatting feature is just
like it would be if you were to use
the Google+ app. Both have been
merged to create this app. The
only convenience is that you get
instant, one-touch access to video
chats and don’t have to go through
the Google+ menu to access it. The
refreshing change is the cross-
platform ability, which could bring
a relief to iOS users who can now
access almost all Google+
Hangouts functions. Though
instant messaging seems cool and
fun with the new app, Hangouts
could possibly be a great option
only for those who frequent Google
+ Hangouts.