Leave behind Skype, Now it – s Time to – Hangout – with Google
Leave behind Skype, Now it's Time to “Hangout” with Google
When it comes to movie messaging services, there are a lot of options to choose from, most notably Skype, Facetime and ooVoo. But there is also the Google Hangouts service. The Google platform offers all the same features as other popular services; plus a few users can’t get anywhere else. So why is “Skype” used as a verb synonymous with “video-calling,” but no one ever talks about “Hanging out?”
At Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, held last week in Mountain View, Calif., the company exposed a stand-alone Hangout app, integrating the Hangout video-calling service with standard instant messaging and photo sharing. Hangout will be available across the web, Android and iOS platforms, making it a direct competitor to similar cross-platform messaging services like WhatsApp and the freshly updated BlackBerry Messenger. Additionally, the web version of the service received an update with fresh features like emojis, pic sharing and the capability to instant message friends even when they’re aren’t online.
Comparing Features
Still, Hangouts is a video-chatting service at heart and is often compared to similar services like Skype, Facetime and ooVoo.
Let’s embark with the features. The free version of Microsoft-owned Skype permits users to instant message, movie talk and share files. A premium version, at a cost to users, adds international voice calling and movie conferencing with up to ten users. Facetime, when used in tandem with the iChat service, permits users to instant message, movie talk with up to four people (nine when listening to audio only), share files and adds screen sharing to the mix. The free version of ooVoo does all of the above, with movie conferencing available for up to twelve people, but if you have a Mac, only six will be displayed on screen, with just the voices of others chirping in. Additionally, ooVoo has a Witness Together feature that permits users who are video-chatting with each other to at the same time see the same movie on their respective screens. Both ooVoo and Skype are available on desktop and mobile devices, including those running BlackBerry Ten.
Skype and ooVoo must be downloaded; Facetime is only for iOS and OSX users. Google is for everyone. Google’s services, when combining Hangouts, GChat and Google Calling, which all flow lightly together, suggest all of the same features as Skype, Facetime and ooVoo, plus much more.
Google Hangouts permits users to movie talk with up to ten people at the same time and observe YouTube movies together. Hangouts support screen-sharing and collaboration with Google Drive, which is a key feature for business use, or students working together on group projects. Additionally, Hangouts offers a “Live on Air” feature, which permits users to stream their talk live on their Google+ profile, YouTube account and any website with the YouTube movie link embedded.
Once a Hangout has been began, users can click the “On Air” button in the corner of the screen to go live. When the Hangout concludes the movie is then automatically saved and uploaded to the user’s YouTube account. The possibilities for the feature’s use seem almost endless. Live On Air could permit schools to broadcast live events for family members who couldn’t be in attendance or permit an aspiring artist to perform for the world from the convenience of their living room – assuming anybody is watching.
Hangouts as a Business Contraption
Already, businesses have begun leveraging Live On Air to interact with its users. Penguin Books holds live book club talks. Steven Spielberg premiered the trailer of the film “Lincoln” alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt on a Google Hangout and both the PGA Tour and WWE hold weekly hangouts to engage with fans. Users can contribute to the conversation by posting on the event’s Google+ page or Twitter using a predetermined hashtag.
Customer and fan interaction isn’t the only enterprise use for the Google Hangout service. As telecommuting becomes more popular the Hangout screen-sharing and Google Drive collaboration devices make Google Hangouts a viable option for business conference calls. But it’s not just excellent for businesses. Students who get thrown into group projects on frequent occasion, and tend to be more familiar with various Google services will also find Google Hangouts to be an effortless solution.
Hangouts are for Everybody
In June of 2012, Google announced it had four hundred twenty five million active monthly users, surpassing Hotmail, now Outlook.com, to become the most-used web-based e-mail client. So that’s four hundred twenty five million active monthly users that have effortless access to the Google Hangout service. Google has seamlessly integrated its applications into each other, making the transition from using a Gmail account to commencing a Google Hangout ordinary and almost automatic.
Hangouts can be began directly from Gmail, from a Google+ profile or the Google+ and Hangouts apps. Once a video-call has begun, adding a person to the call is as plain as coming in another name or e-mail address. The user interface is plain and intuitive, as are all the included features within the Hangout.
TechnologyGuide tested the service by video-chatting with four people, spread out inbetween Spain, the Netherlands, Florida and Boston. The service worked as advertised with no lag in movie or audio, which could be tied to the quality of the hardware being used as much as Google’s service, but it’s still a major pro. Screen-sharing and watching movies together worked seamlessly and file-sharing and engaging in GChat on the side also worked well and intuitively. The service also includes various joy and somewhat foolish features, including the capability to draw on friends faces on screen and add different props like a pirate hat or mustaches.
Google’s user interface and integration of all its service is so ordinary and intuitive, everyone from a tech-savvy teenager to a not-so-tech-savvy grandparent could lightly use and understand the platform.
Do People Use Google Hangouts?
Last month, Skype announced its users spend more than two billion minutes each day connecting with each other via the service. In August, ooVoo announced it had reached fifty four million users and was adding almost 100,000 fresh users a day.
Google hasn’t released any specific statistics on the number of users who are engaging in Hangouts, albeit the company did announce back in December it had two hundred thirty five million active users across the Google+ platform (meaning they are engaging in more applications that just the standard news stream) and over five hundred million of its users have upgraded to a Google+ profile.
Still, Google lightly has the largest user base, so why don’t we hear more about Google Hangouts? TechnologyGuide doesn’t have all the answers, but it can take a few educated guesses. Skype was the very first major video-chatting service to hit consumers, and thus was the very first to be popularized. When users get hooked on a service that works for them, they tend to stick with it, even when a newer, perhaps better, option comes rolling around.
Google’s set of features is so expansive, Hangouts could get lost in the Google+ profile or the host of communication devices the company offers – albeit the release of the standalone, cross-platform Hangout app should help shove the service into the forefront of its users’ minds.
When compared to the features similar service suggest, Google is more than on par. The company resumes to upgrade the service, so maybe instead of “Skyping,” one day everyone will be “Hanging Out.”
Leave behind Skype, Now it – s Time to – Hangout – with Google
Leave behind Skype, Now it's Time to “Hangout” with Google
When it comes to movie messaging services, there are a lot of options to choose from, most notably Skype, Facetime and ooVoo. But there is also the Google Hangouts service. The Google platform offers all the same features as other popular services; plus a few users can’t get anywhere else. So why is “Skype” used as a verb synonymous with “video-calling,” but no one ever talks about “Hanging out?”
At Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, held last week in Mountain View, Calif., the company exposed a stand-alone Hangout app, integrating the Hangout video-calling service with standard instant messaging and photo sharing. Hangout will be available across the web, Android and iOS platforms, making it a direct competitor to similar cross-platform messaging services like WhatsApp and the freshly updated BlackBerry Messenger. Additionally, the web version of the service received an update with fresh features like emojis, picture sharing and the capability to instant message friends even when they’re aren’t online.
Comparing Features
Still, Hangouts is a video-chatting service at heart and is often compared to similar services like Skype, Facetime and ooVoo.
Let’s commence with the features. The free version of Microsoft-owned Skype permits users to instant message, movie talk and share files. A premium version, at a cost to users, adds international voice calling and movie conferencing with up to ten users. Facetime, when used in tandem with the iChat service, permits users to instant message, movie talk with up to four people (nine when listening to audio only), share files and adds screen sharing to the mix. The free version of ooVoo does all of the above, with movie conferencing available for up to twelve people, but if you have a Mac, only six will be displayed on screen, with just the voices of others chirping in. Additionally, ooVoo has a Observe Together feature that permits users who are video-chatting with each other to at the same time witness the same movie on their respective screens. Both ooVoo and Skype are available on desktop and mobile devices, including those running BlackBerry Ten.
Skype and ooVoo must be downloaded; Facetime is only for iOS and OSX users. Google is for everyone. Google’s services, when combining Hangouts, GChat and Google Calling, which all flow lightly together, suggest all of the same features as Skype, Facetime and ooVoo, plus much more.
Google Hangouts permits users to movie talk with up to ten people at the same time and see YouTube movies together. Hangouts support screen-sharing and collaboration with Google Drive, which is a key feature for business use, or students working together on group projects. Additionally, Hangouts offers a “Live on Air” feature, which permits users to stream their talk live on their Google+ profile, YouTube account and any website with the YouTube movie link embedded.
Once a Hangout has been commenced, users can click the “On Air” button in the corner of the screen to go live. When the Hangout concludes the movie is then automatically saved and uploaded to the user’s YouTube account. The possibilities for the feature’s use seem almost endless. Live On Air could permit schools to broadcast live events for family members who couldn’t be in attendance or permit an aspiring artist to perform for the world from the convenience of their living room – assuming anybody is watching.
Hangouts as a Business Instrument
Already, businesses have begun leveraging Live On Air to interact with its users. Penguin Books holds live book club talks. Steven Spielberg premiered the trailer of the film “Lincoln” alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt on a Google Hangout and both the PGA Tour and WWE hold weekly hangouts to engage with fans. Users can contribute to the conversation by posting on the event’s Google+ page or Twitter using a predetermined hashtag.
Customer and fan interaction isn’t the only enterprise use for the Google Hangout service. As telecommuting becomes more popular the Hangout screen-sharing and Google Drive collaboration contraptions make Google Hangouts a viable option for business conference calls. But it’s not just excellent for businesses. Students who get thrown into group projects on frequent occasion, and tend to be more familiar with various Google services will also find Google Hangouts to be an effortless solution.
Hangouts are for Everybody
In June of 2012, Google announced it had four hundred twenty five million active monthly users, surpassing Hotmail, now Outlook.com, to become the most-used web-based e-mail client. So that’s four hundred twenty five million active monthly users that have effortless access to the Google Hangout service. Google has seamlessly integrated its applications into each other, making the transition from using a Gmail account to kicking off a Google Hangout elementary and almost automatic.
Hangouts can be commenced directly from Gmail, from a Google+ profile or the Google+ and Hangouts apps. Once a video-call has begun, adding a person to the call is as ordinary as injecting another name or e-mail address. The user interface is elementary and intuitive, as are all the included features within the Hangout.
TechnologyGuide tested the service by video-chatting with four people, spread out inbetween Spain, the Netherlands, Florida and Boston. The service worked as advertised with no lag in movie or audio, which could be tied to the quality of the hardware being used as much as Google’s service, but it’s still a major pro. Screen-sharing and watching movies together worked seamlessly and file-sharing and engaging in GChat on the side also worked well and intuitively. The service also includes various joy and somewhat bimbo features, including the capability to draw on friends faces on screen and add different props like a pirate hat or mustaches.
Google’s user interface and integration of all its service is so plain and intuitive, everyone from a tech-savvy teenager to a not-so-tech-savvy grandparent could lightly use and understand the platform.
Do People Use Google Hangouts?
Last month, Skype announced its users spend more than two billion minutes each day connecting with each other via the service. In August, ooVoo announced it had reached fifty four million users and was adding almost 100,000 fresh users a day.
Google hasn’t released any specific statistics on the number of users who are engaging in Hangouts, albeit the company did announce back in December it had two hundred thirty five million active users across the Google+ platform (meaning they are engaging in more applications that just the standard news stream) and over five hundred million of its users have upgraded to a Google+ profile.
Still, Google lightly has the largest user base, so why don’t we hear more about Google Hangouts? TechnologyGuide doesn’t have all the answers, but it can take a few educated guesses. Skype was the very first major video-chatting service to hit consumers, and thus was the very first to be popularized. When users get hooked on a service that works for them, they tend to stick with it, even when a newer, perhaps better, option comes rolling around.
Google’s set of features is so expansive, Hangouts could get lost in the Google+ profile or the host of communication devices the company offers – albeit the release of the standalone, cross-platform Hangout app should help thrust the service into the forefront of its users’ minds.
When compared to the features similar service suggest, Google is more than on par. The company proceeds to upgrade the service, so maybe instead of “Skyping,” one day everyone will be “Hanging Out.”
Leave behind Skype, Now it – s Time to – Hangout – with Google
Leave behind Skype, Now it's Time to “Hangout” with Google
When it comes to movie messaging services, there are a lot of options to choose from, most notably Skype, Facetime and ooVoo. But there is also the Google Hangouts service. The Google platform offers all the same features as other popular services; plus a few users can’t get anywhere else. So why is “Skype” used as a verb synonymous with “video-calling,” but no one ever talks about “Hanging out?”
At Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, held last week in Mountain View, Calif., the company exposed a stand-alone Hangout app, integrating the Hangout video-calling service with standard instant messaging and photo sharing. Hangout will be available across the web, Android and iOS platforms, making it a direct competitor to similar cross-platform messaging services like WhatsApp and the freshly updated BlackBerry Messenger. Additionally, the web version of the service received an update with fresh features like emojis, pic sharing and the capability to instant message friends even when they’re aren’t online.
Comparing Features
Still, Hangouts is a video-chatting service at heart and is often compared to similar services like Skype, Facetime and ooVoo.
Let’s begin with the features. The free version of Microsoft-owned Skype permits users to instant message, movie talk and share files. A premium version, at a cost to users, adds international voice calling and movie conferencing with up to ten users. Facetime, when used in tandem with the iChat service, permits users to instant message, movie talk with up to four people (nine when listening to audio only), share files and adds screen sharing to the mix. The free version of ooVoo does all of the above, with movie conferencing available for up to twelve people, but if you have a Mac, only six will be displayed on screen, with just the voices of others chirping in. Additionally, ooVoo has a Observe Together feature that permits users who are video-chatting with each other to at the same time observe the same movie on their respective screens. Both ooVoo and Skype are available on desktop and mobile devices, including those running BlackBerry Ten.
Skype and ooVoo must be downloaded; Facetime is only for iOS and OSX users. Google is for everyone. Google’s services, when combining Hangouts, GChat and Google Calling, which all flow lightly together, suggest all of the same features as Skype, Facetime and ooVoo, plus much more.
Google Hangouts permits users to movie talk with up to ten people at the same time and witness YouTube movies together. Hangouts support screen-sharing and collaboration with Google Drive, which is a key feature for business use, or students working together on group projects. Additionally, Hangouts offers a “Live on Air” feature, which permits users to stream their talk live on their Google+ profile, YouTube account and any website with the YouTube movie link embedded.
Once a Hangout has been began, users can click the “On Air” button in the corner of the screen to go live. When the Hangout concludes the movie is then automatically saved and uploaded to the user’s YouTube account. The possibilities for the feature’s use seem almost endless. Live On Air could permit schools to broadcast live events for family members who couldn’t be in attendance or permit an aspiring artist to perform for the world from the convenience of their living room – assuming anybody is watching.
Hangouts as a Business Device
Already, businesses have begun leveraging Live On Air to interact with its users. Penguin Books holds live book club talks. Steven Spielberg premiered the trailer of the film “Lincoln” alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt on a Google Hangout and both the PGA Tour and WWE hold weekly hangouts to engage with fans. Users can contribute to the conversation by posting on the event’s Google+ page or Twitter using a predetermined hashtag.
Customer and fan interaction isn’t the only enterprise use for the Google Hangout service. As telecommuting becomes more popular the Hangout screen-sharing and Google Drive collaboration instruments make Google Hangouts a viable option for business conference calls. But it’s not just fine for businesses. Students who get thrown into group projects on frequent occasion, and tend to be more familiar with various Google services will also find Google Hangouts to be an effortless solution.
Hangouts are for Everybody
In June of 2012, Google announced it had four hundred twenty five million active monthly users, surpassing Hotmail, now Outlook.com, to become the most-used web-based e-mail client. So that’s four hundred twenty five million active monthly users that have effortless access to the Google Hangout service. Google has seamlessly integrated its applications into each other, making the transition from using a Gmail account to beginning a Google Hangout elementary and almost automatic.
Hangouts can be began directly from Gmail, from a Google+ profile or the Google+ and Hangouts apps. Once a video-call has begun, adding a person to the call is as plain as injecting another name or e-mail address. The user interface is elementary and intuitive, as are all the included features within the Hangout.
TechnologyGuide tested the service by video-chatting with four people, spread out inbetween Spain, the Netherlands, Florida and Boston. The service worked as advertised with no lag in movie or audio, which could be tied to the quality of the hardware being used as much as Google’s service, but it’s still a major pro. Screen-sharing and watching movies together worked seamlessly and file-sharing and engaging in GChat on the side also worked well and intuitively. The service also includes various joy and somewhat foolish features, including the capability to draw on friends faces on screen and add different props like a pirate hat or mustaches.
Google’s user interface and integration of all its service is so elementary and intuitive, everyone from a tech-savvy teenager to a not-so-tech-savvy grandparent could lightly use and understand the platform.
Do People Use Google Hangouts?
Last month, Skype announced its users spend more than two billion minutes each day connecting with each other via the service. In August, ooVoo announced it had reached fifty four million users and was adding almost 100,000 fresh users a day.
Google hasn’t released any specific statistics on the number of users who are engaging in Hangouts, albeit the company did announce back in December it had two hundred thirty five million active users across the Google+ platform (meaning they are engaging in more applications that just the standard news stream) and over five hundred million of its users have upgraded to a Google+ profile.
Still, Google lightly has the largest user base, so why don’t we hear more about Google Hangouts? TechnologyGuide doesn’t have all the answers, but it can take a few educated guesses. Skype was the very first major video-chatting service to hit consumers, and thus was the very first to be popularized. When users get hooked on a service that works for them, they tend to stick with it, even when a newer, perhaps better, option comes rolling around.
Google’s set of features is so expansive, Hangouts could get lost in the Google+ profile or the host of communication instruments the company offers – albeit the release of the standalone, cross-platform Hangout app should help shove the service into the forefront of its users’ minds.
When compared to the features similar service suggest, Google is more than on par. The company proceeds to upgrade the service, so maybe instead of “Skyping,” one day everyone will be “Hanging Out.”