Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s elementary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, tho’. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users kicking off Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be finish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s elementary to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s plain to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, however. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users beginning Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s elementary to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s plain to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, tho’. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would most likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The petite (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users embarking Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be finish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s ordinary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, however. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who displayed me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would most likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The petite (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users beginning Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s elementary to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Software
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s elementary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, however. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who displayed me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users kicking off Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, however, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s elementary to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Software
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s plain to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, however. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who displayed me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The petite (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users commencing Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s elementary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, tho’. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who displayed me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would most likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users beginning Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, however, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Software
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s elementary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, tho’. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who showcased me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users embarking Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be finish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, however, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Software
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s plain to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, tho’. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
Gmail gets movie. (And either the person who demonstrated me the app can’t be seen in public, or Google can’t afford lights.)
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would very likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The petite (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users embarking Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be accomplish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, tho’, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service:
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
Google launches movie talk for Gmail
The bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service is no Skype, but it’s plain to install and use, and is a very good addition to Gmail.
Google is rolling out movie and voice capabilities for the talk function that is embedded in the Gmail interface. It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s ordinary to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.
It’s no Skype, however. Gmail Movie and Voice, as it’s called, can’t connect to the plain phone network, as Skype’s paid service can. And there are slew of other optional features missing, like a voice call recorder.
I found a demo of voice and movie quality on the service excellent, albeit to be fair I was connected from CNET’s corporate network to someone at the Google campus. I do expect Gmail Movie quality to be a bit more consistent than Skype, since unlike the point-to-point architecture of Skype, Gmail Movie traffic all runs through Google servers. I expect that Google has the bandwidth and server capacity needed.
But the service was a resource hog on my 2-year-old computer; it used up all my available CPU resources and made other apps slow to react. I’ve had better luck with Skype. Newer computers would most likely not have this problem.
Unlike many current movie talk products, Gmail Movie and Voice uses a proprietary plug-in, not Flash. The puny (2MB) download supports Firefox, IE, and Chrome on the PC, and Firefox on the Mac. Support for other browsers and platforms (Linux and mobile) may come later.
Gmail Movie and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users beginning Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be finish by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a talk with someone (you don’t actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the talk window, there will be an interface element labeled "Movie & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a movie call to someone who hasn’t yet installed the plug-in, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn’t yet enabled).
The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice talk for a while, only later may get the movie capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.
Upshot: The addition of voice and movie makes Gmail a more compelling product. It’s very nice to have all the major communications channels (e-mail, talk, voice, movie, and soon, SMS ) in one place and under one log-on. Google could, however, layer in some more connectivity into its own apps (like YouTube, Google Docs presentations, and Android) to make it even richer. And the lack of an interface to the standard phone system is limiting.
But Google got the very first release of its videophone pretty much right. It works, it’s effortless, and if you’re a Gmail user, the service is right where you want it.
Here’s a Google developer’s pitch for the service: