Most people are familiar with Gmail’s chat option by now (and some of you have probably even tried out the video chat feature while scanning your e-mails or chatting on GTalk). Google recently announced that we will soon have an impressive Google+ Hangouts feature in our Gmail inboxes.
Google explains the new feature as follows:
“Unlike the old video chat, which was based on peer-to-peer technology, Hangouts utilize the power of Google’s network to deliver higher reliability and enhanced quality. You’ll be able to chat with all the same people you did before and, in fact, with Hangouts you’ll now be able to reach them not only when they are using Gmail but also if they are on Google+ in the browser or on their Android or iOS devices,” said Google on their blog.
While all Gmail users will benefit from the upgrade, you’ll get even more from the Hangouts experience if you (as well as the person you’re talking to) are on Google+. Besides video chat, you will have mini-user chats where up to 9 users can talk at once and you will also have joint YouTube video watching.
The new features were rolled out on the 30th of July and will be available to all Gmail users within the next few weeks. Check out our Google+ page and we’ll keep you posted about new developments!