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Google Talk Review
Google Talk around the network:
- TUAW explains how to connect to Google Talk using iChat on Mac OS X
- Google Talk at the Unofficial Google Weblog
Google Talk, Google's long-expected entry into the IM and VoIP market, has arrived. As predicted, Google Talk is a full-fledged IM client based on the open Jabber protocol with VoIP thrown in for good measure.
Update: The Google Talk web site has gone live and you can now download Google Talk for Windows.
Here's a quick run-down of what Google Talk has to offer: Basic IM capabilities, high-quality and easy to use VoIP, complete integration with Gmail, and a simple, ads-free interface. Read on for our preliminary review and a glimpse into Google Talk's future.
The download is tiny (about 900k) and the install is so quick and easy you don't even realize it's finished yet. You sign in with your Gmail account and are immediately presented with your (momentarily empty) buddy list. There's an Add Friend button, a "Search all contacts" field which searches both your Google Talk and Gmail contacts, and a drop-down under your name that lets you set your available/unavailable status and messages. There's also an Inbox button which takes you to Gmail, plus Help and Settings.
Clicking on a friend in your buddy list will open an IM window for that person, and clicking on the phone icon to the right of their name will start a voice session. The buddy list allows you to rename contacts and tweak other settings, like whether Gmail-only contacts are shown. When you have multiple IM windows open, they show up in a neat sliding interface which you can dock to the buddy list, "roll up," or tear away. The whole affair is the picture of simplicity and intuitiveness we've come to expect of Google, and is downright attractive to boot.
According to our friends at Google, there's a lot in store for Google Talk. Google is keenly interested in keeping the protocol open, and in fact you can access Google Talk's servers with any Jabber-compatible client like Trillian, Gaim, Adium X, and iChat. (If you have one of these, I'm told you can connect using server talk.google.com and port 5222.) Google tells us that SIP support is coming soon and are in talks with Skype, AOL, and Yahoo! concerning interoperability.
Another big feature they're working on is "joint search," which would allow two or more Google Talk buddies using Google and surfing the web together. This would be a natural segue to the fabled Google Browser, but there is as yet no confirmation from Google.
Google also tells us that they don't yet have solid plans on making money with the service, but plan on using it to drive users to Gmail.
Comments
89
Subscribe to commentsmusAug 23rd 2005 11:14PM
???
matoAug 25th 2005 9:40AM
Great!
HarrisonAug 23rd 2005 11:27PM
http://www.google.com/talk/ back up for ya'll. Just kept trying and trying, thought I was going to have to wait until tommorrow, but I guess not. WOOHOH!
Barb DybwadOct 7th 2005 4:41PM
it's live now --
http://www.google.com/talk/
This message came over the talk.google.com servers at 11:14pm EST:
"The broken link has been fixed. Thanks for being our first users!"
pAug 23rd 2005 11:23PM
Available NOW!!!
dinesh cyanamAug 23rd 2005 11:39PM
GOOGLE TALK SITE IS UP AND WE R ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE CLIENT NOW
http://www.google.com/talk/
DanaAug 23rd 2005 11:46PM
Shouldn't Google update their Philosophy that:
"Google does search. Google does not do horoscopes, financial advice or chat...."
CarlaAug 24th 2005 12:40AM
This is SWEEEEET! Anyone, Everyone....feel free to IM me at Carmige@gmail.com.
norebonomisAug 23rd 2005 11:56PM
now i've downloaded the google talk client, i'm wondering, why isn't this a google sidebar plugin?
at least my google desktop side bar can be docked, this little google talk application is waaaay to beta, along with imeem. i mean where is the CONVERGENCE? all these seperate little entities that only let me talk to people using the same service? wtf? google help me solve this one.
HunSirAug 24th 2005 12:44AM
Using&Debuging
Patrick McFarlandAug 24th 2005 2:45AM
You can now play Hunt The Wumpus, the classic UNIX game, using Google Talk. Just follow the instructions at: http://shadowconflict.blogspot.com/2005/08/play-hunt-wumpus-on-google-talk.html
JamesAug 24th 2005 3:55AM
Google Talk's First "Hack"! How to Broadcast MP3's, Podcasts and other audio over Google Talk
JamesAug 24th 2005 3:57AM
Oops.. that link is:
http://www.twittv.com/googletalk.html
VarunAug 24th 2005 9:03AM
In your hurry to post the 1st review you even seem to have misspelled the article title at first (The URI has 'googe') :-)
gokhanAug 25th 2005 2:49PM
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Nicole SimonAug 24th 2005 5:34AM
It is a voip application - and it had the same amount of problems as some older skype versions. Once I unset my Tascam US-122 driver, I could finally start it.
I am not sure if I like the fact, that many features are not built into it, you just expect of a major player to enter the market.
No, I am not talking about Voicemail, in or out calls. The options one could set are still too few, keyboard support is underwhelming of what is state of the art - but then again, that is probably something one can get rid of with a third party tool.
The integration with Gmail makes sense and I especially liked the fact that they asked if they should uninstall the notifier for me.
They did have an okay start, and we will see how this will improve over time. Mostly it seems like a clever move to get more gmail users online, because they might not use it, but need one account to use talk.
I figured recently that I also 'have' a yahoo mail account - and in the overall scheme of counting users, this probably matters more than just talk users.
Andrew StewartAug 24th 2005 5:43AM
The client is available now and works pretty cool, nice and minimal I can see a lot of work will be done, but I have yet to try to voice mode (pc has no sound card). Any one who wants to test it can add me - dewy.mypsp@gmail.com
solomonAug 24th 2005 6:52AM
there is now a forum dedicated to sharing first impressions and experience of Google talk at www.voippark.com/forum . check it out and let people hear what think of the google entrance into the VoIP business
VargAug 24th 2005 9:02AM
Download link: http://www.google.com/talk/index.html
Ian McDonaldAug 24th 2005 11:01AM
talk.google.com is up atm as of 14:45 bst i just downloaded it to be frank interface is better on skype