Gmail users will soon be using a Hangouts style feature rather than the video chat that they are used to. The current video chat function will be removed from Gmail, as Google improve the chat service with the new feature similar to Hangouts in Google+. According to the product manager for Google, Fred Brewin, the old Gmail feature worked using technology which allowed chat between two people. Hangouts will deliver a higher quality and reliability for users.
Rather than only being able to contact a user while signed in to Gmail, a person will be able to reach someone if they are on Google+, either in the browser, iOS devices or Android device. The upgrade will be beneficial to all Gmail users but additional features will be available to users of Google+. Some believe that this could be a clever attempt by Google to encourage more people to sign up to the social networking site.
According to a blog post on Google’s website, Brewin said:
“You’ll be able to video chat with up to nine people at once, watch YouTube videos together, collaborate on Google documents and share your screen.”
Google will also be trying to attract users to Google+ with virtual costumes, just one of the fun effects provided with the new feature. As Google improves its services, more people will have the opportunity to share information with a wider group of people, making Google an essential component of search engine optimisation (SEO) for a business, whether a company is in Liverpool or LA.
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