Hangouts: Google’s reply to BBM, iMessage & More

Say goodbye to Google Talk & G+ Messenger. Google Hangouts is getting updated big time, and it will absorb all of the company’s shortcomings on messaging.

Viber is taking on the desktop, Microsoft has Skype, Apple has iMessage, BlackBerry has BBM – then there’s still a lot more in the picture such as WhatsApp, Yahoo & the rest. What does Google have? Voice, Talk, G+… and all of them are integrated with one service after another. It’s honestly messy.

hangouts

Google simplifies and enters the messaging game with Hangouts. It’s basically an app that you can download too – and it will be available on Android, iOS & the web.

The company tries to simplify everything by placing your recent conversations in front of you. The focus here is simply hanging out since your convos with people are labeled and put forward rather than displaying a bunch of chats with contacts. It still features a lot of personal touches by Google, and of course, video chat is available up to 10 people.

We guess it won’t be called Babel or Babble after all.

With so many Android users across the globe, you can only imagine how many people use Google’s services. The question is, however, will the consumers adapt to Hangout? Or will they use other messaging services that are more matured in the market?

The app will be available soon, so feel free to try it out and leave a comment down below.

{via} {Google Hangouts}

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Google I/O 2013: What To Expect

Google’s next event is happening next month. Last year, they introduced the Nexus 7, Android 4.1 Jellybean, the now-abandoned Nexus Q and a lot more. Tickets for the event are all sold out, so let’s just go through the things that we might see this upcoming Google I/O 213.

GOOGLE IO

Aside from new services, Google-branded products are the most widely expected line-up that people are eager for. A brand new Nexus smartphone and/or tablet, a wearable tech crazier and more ambitious than Google Glasses and new features to be incorporated with the latest Android.

Nexus 7 Successor

The Galaxy Nexus & Nexus 4 was announced on an October, so maybe the Nexus phone still won’t be announced as early as next month. Instead, we might be seeing an updated Nexus 7. The tablet is expected to pack a 1080p display, which is entirely probable since it’s becoming a norm on high-end smartphones now. To power that is an S4 Pro CPU, according to reports.

nexus 7

It’s getting a lot of difficult competition now with the Galaxy note 8.0 & iPad Mini around, so expect it to become capable. While it doesn’t really have sense to have a camera on a tablet, maybe Google & Asus could slip one in it just to say it has it.

Android Key Lime Pie

We have no clues on the version number. In fact, we have no clues on anything. Since it’s expected not to be a big leap anyways, let’s say it’ll be 4.3. It could contain minor updates to already given features, such as battery percentage on the notification bar or so.

It can also bring features like a unified messaging app…

Google Babel/Babble

A lot of speculation has been made about Google Babble/Babel. The naming could be any, since Babble is related to speech while Babel is the biblical tower that created different languages across men. The service aims to unify the company’s messaging clients – from Google+, Talk, Hangouts & Voice.

babble

It’s probably going to be competing with iMessage and the like, and you can only imagine the users it will get especially with all the Android users out there. Communication will be a lot easier.

The New Google Play Store App

It’s been a long time since the Play Store had a design overhaul. Leaks have been going around already on what the next change will be, and it looks a lot lighter.

We’ve reported this before, and this one is expected to roll out to all Android devices as previous versions did.

Motorola X Phone

Ah, Motorola. Ever since Google bought the mobile phone maker, we haven’t seen any direct Google influence from their devices. The last ones we saw were the Razr Maxx HD, and rumors suggest a lot of ideas about the rumored comeback phone of Motorola.

You can believe two rumor paths here. First, they were saying it’s going to be revolutionary and that it was said to be build-to-order, meaning you can request for the specs you want. Second is that it’s probably not going to be that game-changing phone everyone wanted, but perhaps just a Motorola flagship (1080p display and all that or more).

And all these little things…

Google’s a big company with big plans. Of course it won’t be just this. It’s impossible that we won’t get to see another Project Glass demo, more software improvements and more service expansions (Fiber, Now & etc.). What about you? What are the things that you would want to see from the search giant next month?

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