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Google Hangouts to seamlessly integrate Google Voice in the future

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by Aditya Thawardas on
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google_hangoutsSince Google Hangouts was released last week, users haven’t been too happy with the lack of SMS and Google Voice integration. Google has already told us that SMS messaging will be included in the near future, and today a Google member is assuring us that Voice will also be a part of future versions. Nikhyl Singhal, product manager for real time communications at Google, went so far to say on his Google+ profile that Hangouts is “designed to be the future of Google Voice” and that future versions of Hangouts will integrate Google Voice more seamlessly.

In addition, the recent Gmail update that added Hangouts disabled Google Voice outbound calling. On his Google+ account, Singhal added that “outbound/inbound calls will soon be available.” It’s great to see that Google will continue working to add and restore features to their new client that users want, but with Google, it’s hard to expect anything less.

Source: +Nikhyl Singhal

Google Hangouts “easter eggs” revealed, include ponies and dinosaurs

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by Aditya Thawardas on
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Google Hangouts has a lot of cool features, including over 800 emoji characters to use. Apparently there are also six hidden “easter eggs,” including ponies, dinosaurs, and the ability to change the background of the chat window. Google employee Moritz Toxdorff posted the above image on his Google+ account, which explains how to use them. All you need to do to experience the magic is type in your desired code into the chat window, and press enter. Right now, these easter eggs only work on the Google+ client of Hangouts, but the Chrome and mobile clients should surely get them soon.

Source: +MoritzTolxdorff

Google Hangouts requires permissions to receive, read, and send SMS messages, could support be added soon?

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by Aditya Thawardas on
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Very early reviews of Google Hangouts seem to be mixed. Many people love the new service, but many are also unhappy with the fact that SMS messaging is not integrated. These users have quickly dominated the app’s reviews in the Play Store, pleading for the feature to be added to what is supposed to be a unified messaging system.

However, a quick look at the permissions Google Hangouts requires reveals that SMS support could be coming soon. Among the permissions the app has access to - receiving text messages (SMS), reading text messages (SMS or MMS), and sending SMS messages – none of which the app currently seems to actually be using.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this means SMS support will be added sooner than later (maybe with Android 4.3?), making it even more of a truly unified messaging system. After the break you can read the message permissions Google Hangouts requires. » Read the rest

Google+ Hangouts for desktop now allows remote control of other computers

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by Harrison Kaminsky on
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If you’re constantly heading over to the homes of friends and family to supply some tech support, Google+ now provides a much more simple solution, via Hangouts Remote Desktop.  Powered by the same technology behind Chrome Remote Desktop, this new feature will provide a much more efficient way of getting things done.

Of course this application requires permission, so you don’t have to worry about hackers being able to swiftly commandeer your desktop without your approval.

Instructions to use the application are after the break. » Read the rest

Google+ for Android gets major update, available for download now

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by Alexon Enfiedjian on
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Google has been relentless with its updates lately, and today we see yet another important release from big-G; this time to its Google+ application. Early this morning Google released Google+ v.3.3 for Android and it includes some pretty big feature additions. First of all, Google has made the general user experience better by giving you the ability to easily edit your profile details, quickly author new content, receive more “subtle” notifications, and giving you access to Google’s newly released “Google+ Communities”. On the photo/video side of things, you’ll be able to upload full sized photos via Instant Upload (up to 5GB of free storage) on top of the unlimited storage that you already get for standard-sized photos (2048px). Android 4.2 users will now be able to post Photo-Spheres to their feed, and anyone running Android 2.2 and up will be able to view them. For video chatting capabilities, Google has made it possible for people to join a Hangout even if they have extremely low bandwidth (down to 150KB), though this feature seems to be enabled only on the web version of Google+. Also available on the web version, Google has made some improvements to the Hangout user interface, including hiding the “filmstrip” of faces if you’re the only participant in an “On Air Hangout”.

» Read the rest

Google+ Hangouts to connect NFL fantasy football fans

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by Jeff Causey on
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Google announced a new purpose for Google+ Hangouts today – fantasy football! Nikhyl Singhal, Google+ Product Director, made the announcement on the Google Official Blog. It appears Google has managed to strike a deal with the NFL as a primary feature is the inclusion of one-click access to Google+ Hangouts from any NFL.com/fantasyfootball web page. The announcement indicates this includes both the Draft and Game Centers. Clicking on the provided button will launch a hangout with your fellow league members. » Read the rest