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November 7, 2009

Google Talk to Add Video Conferencing

Gmail Chat, the web-based version of Google Talk, added last year voice and video chat. The feature is now available in iGoogle and orkut, but it will probably be added to other Google services, as well.

SFGate reports that Google will improve the service significantly in the coming months.
Gmail's voice and video chats are now limited to one-to-one communications, but Google wants to broaden that capability to more than two participants and make it more robust all around for Apps.

"This [current Gmail capability] is the first step in a much broader set of features we hope to roll out over the next six to 12 months around video [and voice] chat capabilities," said Rishi Chandra, a Google Apps product manager. "It's a great opportunity for us to push that space along."

It's not clear whether Google plans to integrate Marratech's video conferencing software, acquired in 2007.

Other features that will be added to Google's services: "intelligent meeting scheduling in Google calendar", "intelligent workflow in the [Google Docs] applications", "lots of new functionality being developed especially around formatting" in Google Docs.

{ via Justin Uberti }

16 comments:

  1. i think gtalk ui is best. many of im's are coping it's clean interface.
    of course gtalk lacks many feature like video chat, conferencing
    but it's ui is simple and clean like most of google products.

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  2. Applause for the moron from Germany ('und')... Anyhow -- pity they wont be using standardize jingle. That could lead to better communication not only with google-chat/gtalk but other software implementing it...

    As to better integration of MSN/Yahoo/AIM, well... Facebook is going to provide their chat in xmpp manner. Who would trouble themselves with msn/Y/AIM in that time? IMHO sooner or later they will migrate to xmpp as well, leading to easier communication (has anyone imagined having separate e-mail address for every mail service in the world?! O_o )

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  3. I think Google should add more functionality in Google talk like Video call, video call conference and video call auto answer feature

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  4. Google is best like always

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  5. Still waiting for that Voice/Video plug-in for Linux. With ChromeOS coming out "soon," will it support voice and video?

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  6. When I read the SFGate article yesterday from Alex's Friendfeed, I decided to look up when Gmail video chat was added. It has been one year! So when the Google Talk team says we will see something in 6-12 months, I am not sure if I can take them seriously. Google Talk is a very important product in Gmail, Google Apps, Google Voice, and other Google products. I wonder why they don't give it more attention and spend time developing features to make it the dominate online IM service.

    To comment on some of the remarks above: I wish Google would have stuck to standard, open protocols for video chat. I would like to see them integrate other IM services as well. And as a heavy Linux user, I wish they would develop the plug-in sooner rather than later.

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  7. I'd be just happy if they, somehow
    * upgraded the Windows client
    * integrated WLM or other networks
    * released clients for Mac and Linux.


    in that order :D

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  8. Update the Windows client first Google. It has been years.

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  9. Oh!! I like video chat and conferencing.Actually I have big habit of chatting with friends and video chatting and conferencing made this more interesting.Thanks to google.

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  10. Until Gmail Chat works in Linux, Google can't honestly claim that they even offer voice or video chat in Gmail. I use Gmail and I don't see it.

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  11. Like many others here, I think that Google should better release video and voice chat on Linux instead of working on their standalone tool Gtalk :-/

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  12. I used google video at my work place and everyone loves it. What google lacks right now is a multiple conferece which allow more than two people video chat.

    Love to see it out very soon :)

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  13. Oh!! I like video chat and conferencing.Actually I have big habit of chatting with friends and video chatting and conferencing made this more interesting.Thanks to google.

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  14. I wonder why they don't give it more attention and spend time developing features to make it the dominate online IM service.

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  15. I'd like to have some conferencing for free, or ad supported for my company.

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  16. I really would like to video talk with 2 or more people at once.

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