Items tagged with Hangouts
Are you having trouble keeping track of all of the different messaging apps that Google offers? Don't feel bad; a lot of us do. In fact, it feels like Google has a number of redundancies in this space, and with its latest move, we get the feeling that the consolidation has begun. Take Allo, for example, which is set to take the place of Hangouts in the official "Google Mobile Services" package going forward. That means that vendors won't need to bundle Hangouts with their devices, although they still have the option to should they want to offer a more complete package. Even if they don't, however, you would still be able to download it from the Play Store, which isn't a grand inconvenience....
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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...
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Google has gone and revamped its Hangouts app for Android. It has a fresh new look courtesy of Google's Material Design, along with improved speed and new feature additions to make the experience easier to navigate and better than before. The end result is Hangouts 4.0, a new version that's rolling out to Android devices today.It was only a matter of time before Google took a fresh coat of paint and changed things up. Google's Material Design aesthetic that was introduced with Android 5.0 Lollipop has already been applied to NVIDIA's Shield Hub and, a little more recently, Chrome OS. Apparently Hangouts was next in line.The updated version sports a new look and feel with items that respond to...
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Here's what isn't surprising: Facebook is trying to take over where the conventional text message left off. Here's what is surprising: that is has taken this long to get to this point. The tried-and-true phone number is a hangover technology from many generations ago, and it's actually quite unfortunate that it's still around. With so many communication efforts moving to IP-based technology, the phone number still refuses to allow us to talk via voice or text while overseas without paying outrageous roaming rates. Thankfully, savvy tech companies are discovering workarounds. Google Hangouts began to enable chats using just one's phone number in a recent app update, and now it appears that Facebook...
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Although the Internet is a deep and wide resource for learning how to do everything from playing licks on a slide guitar to how to fix your dishwasher to the best makeup tips and so on, Google is taking Internet-based help a step further with the introduction of Helpouts, which Google developed based on its Hangouts technology. It’s hard to summarize what Helpouts is exactly in one sentence, because what most people are going to think is “help video”, but that sells the new service far too short--and that’s not quite accurate, either. Instead of pulling up a video of someone demonstrating how to do something, you can actually have a one-to-one video chat with an expert...
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Google Hangouts is one of the choicest features of Google+, and now it’s getting even better with an upgrade to 720p HD. The update has started rolling out over the last few weeks, and everyone will have it by the end of next week. However, more notably, this development foreshadows a move to more open standards and a plugin-less world of video in web browsers. Google has been transitioning to the open VP8 video codec from H.264--a change invisible to end users other than the fact that the video might look a little cleaner--and VP8 will also enable the HD quality in Hangouts. (Credit: Gigaom) The next step is that Google will be using the WebRTC standard for Hangouts. WebRTC is a free and...
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The future of the telephone may be in jeopardy, or at least in some form of danger. Why? Google. The company has allowed US-based users to make telephone calls to the United States and Canada via Gmail for a few years now, and it's about to extend that in a big way. Recently, with a Gmail overhaul, the ability to make outbound calls vanished. And Google heard the outcry. So now, it's back -- and better. Calls to the US and Canada are now free from all countries where Hangouts calling is available. And international rates remain super, super low. Today's launch also improves the desktop calling experience in a number of ways. For example: you can add multiple phone numbers and video participants...
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Back in late 2008, Google added video chat capabilities to Gmail, giving users a viable non-Skype way to communicate with friends, family, and coworkers. Not quite four years later, Google has updated the Gmail's video chat service with Google+ Hangout technology. The original version of Gmail video chat used peer-to-peer technology, but Hangouts (to quote the official Gmail Blog) “utilize the power of Google’s network to deliver higher reliability and enhanced quality”. Gmail users will all get the Hangouts update, but Google+ users will get a little more from it, including the ability to chat with up to 9 people, collaborate on documents and share videos, share your screen,...
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