Google Hangouts Graduates, Gains Its Own Dedicated Website
Google launched a new website for its Google Hangouts chat service this week. The website comes just a week after Google announced that the Google Hangouts app for Android had received a major update and provides users with an easy way to reach Hangouts. (iOS got its Hangouts revamp earlier in the summer.)
That’s not to say it wasn’t already pretty easy to start a Hangout. The service is embedded in Gmail and Google+, not to mention being available as apps for Android and iOS. But the new website gives you one more easy access point. And, as some users pointed out, business users may prefer to visit hangouts.google.com in a browser than mess with getting IT to let them install the app.
Each time you visit Google Hangouts’ new site, you’ll be treated to a new background. Google snags the background images from Google+ and gives credit to the photographer, which is a nice touch. The site itself is very straightforward: the Message, Phone Call, and Video Call buttons are front and center, while a list of your recent conversations takes up a sizable chunk of the page.
Click the More button on the left side of the page and a navigation menu appears, complete with links to various Hangouts apps. You can also adjust several settings here, including your ring preferences and blocked list.
The new website doesn’t mark a departure for Hangouts from Google, however. With Google’s creation of Alphabet, some Google projects have been cut loose, but the improvements to Hangouts in recent month appear to be just that.
That’s not to say it wasn’t already pretty easy to start a Hangout. The service is embedded in Gmail and Google+, not to mention being available as apps for Android and iOS. But the new website gives you one more easy access point. And, as some users pointed out, business users may prefer to visit hangouts.google.com in a browser than mess with getting IT to let them install the app.
Each time you visit Google Hangouts’ new site, you’ll be treated to a new background. Google snags the background images from Google+ and gives credit to the photographer, which is a nice touch. The site itself is very straightforward: the Message, Phone Call, and Video Call buttons are front and center, while a list of your recent conversations takes up a sizable chunk of the page.
Click the More button on the left side of the page and a navigation menu appears, complete with links to various Hangouts apps. You can also adjust several settings here, including your ring preferences and blocked list.
The new website doesn’t mark a departure for Hangouts from Google, however. With Google’s creation of Alphabet, some Google projects have been cut loose, but the improvements to Hangouts in recent month appear to be just that.
