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AT&T blocking Google Hangout video chats on mobile networks

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by Jared Peters on
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Simply put, Google Hangouts is awesome. It’s seamless, it’s cross-platform, and it works really well. At least, it works well so long as you’re not on AT&T’s mobile network. Unfortunately, if you try to video chat when you’re using AT&T’s network, it won’t work. According to AT&T officially, video chatting will work on their network with any app that isn’t preloaded, but it’s up to manufacturers to make sure their apps work on AT&T’s network. That’s kind of a loophole exception, because Google Talk is a preloaded app but Hangouts has to be downloaded from the Play Store… Overall, not exactly a consumer-friendly move. Regardless, don’t try video chatting over AT&T’s network in the near future. We’ll be sure to keep you updated if they change their stance on the matter.

SMS integration within Google Hangouts on its way

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by Jeff Causey on
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When Google announced the new Hangouts application yesterday, many people were excited to finally have an integrated, synced messaging service. That excitement was tempered by the realization that SMS was not supported – at least, not yet. The lack of SMS integration was curious since the application’s permissions include the ability to send, receive, and read SMS messages. Some users were also getting messages during the installation or upgrade process that seemed to indicate the app was using SMS for phone number verifications.

A message from Dori Storbeck, community manager with Google indicates “SMS integration is coming soon – it is one of our most requested features!”  Storbeck did post an update later indicating “We actually have nothing to announce at this time.” The pieces seem to be in place for SMS integration and it is clearly a function that users are interested in having. The question remains as to when it will be made available.

source: +Dori Storbeck

Google Hangouts officially announced at Google I/O, now live in the Google Play Store

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by Harrison Kaminsky on
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The long-anticipated Google Hangouts application was announced this afternoon at Google I/O 2013 and is now available in the Google Play Store for download.

The app allows for one-to-one chat, group chat, picture/video sharing, emojis, as well as video calling. It’s multi-platform integrated, meaning you can use it on your computer, your Android, or your iOS device— everything will remain perfectly synced. Conversation threads will remain on the Hangouts application until you delete them, so you can always look back and see a timeline of old photos and videos you shared with others through the app.

One pretty big disappointment is the lack of SMS support in the application. However, some have said otherwise. Google knows that apps like “Hangouts” are the future of smartphone communication, so they may just be paving the way for the abandonment of SMS-use. We’ll just have to wait and see how users react to this new technology! Check out a photo gallery and the link to the Google Play Store after the break! » Read the rest

Google+ Update Improves Hangouts And More

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by Ed Caggiani on
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It’s obvious that Google is taking social networking seriously judging by its continual improvement of Google+. The most recent update to the Google+ app improves Hangouts for mobile. You can now join Hangouts on Air from your mobile device, and teens can now create and join Hangouts. Also, the app now contains a grey shortcut bar at the top for quick access to your circles, sharing, and other options. This makes sharing posts more efficient. Photo view also gets a little love by gaining a floating timestamp, and abuse reporting has been added for Events. Here’s the full list of what’s new from the Play Store page.

What’s in this version:

  • Teens can now create and join Hangouts from mobile
  • Join Hangouts on Air from mobile
  • Floating timestamp in photos view
  • Shortcuts for post creation
  • Ability to report abuse in Events

Get the update from the Play Store link or QR code below.

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Play Store Download Link

Google Talk to step aside for Hangouts in Gmail

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by Chris Stewart on
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Ten heads are better than one, or so our friends at Google think as they have today unveiled that Google+ Hangouts will be replacing Google Talk as the embedded video chat service within Gmail. From today the service will be available for all users with a personal Google account, you’ll need to sign up for Google+ to enable the video conferencing feature.

Google Talk has long been Google’s messaging service since it launched on desktops back in summer 2005. It was also a mainstay of Android right from the very beginning, included as a core application in version 1.0 back in 2008. Google later added video calling to the application via the Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 update for the Samsung Nexus S.

Cue the launch of Google+ back in summer 2011. Google+ has had mixed success to date, although still very much a work in progress. All pros and cons considered, it’s fair to say that Hangouts has been one of the stand-out features of the service. As soon as Google+ was launched many Android users questioned the need for both Hangouts and Google Talk. Could this latest move be a nail in the coffin for Google Talk? Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

 

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Source: Gmail Blog

Google+ adds Google Doc Support in Hangouts

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by Stacy Bruce on
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One of the great features about Google+ is Hangouts. It’s a place where you and multiple friends, schoolmates or coworkers can gather online and gives you the ability to share a video chat between multiple people. Google just recently added a new feature that I am sure will make the productivity side of Hangouts much more useful, you can now use Google Docs while inside a Hangout. This new feature allows a group of people to look over the same document at the same time, giving users the ability to make communal changes for all to see. To start using Google Docs you just need to hit the new Google Doc button inside a Hangout and you will then have the option to open a new doc or create a new one from scratch. This should make life much easier for some of you. No word on if it will be available on Android devices any time soon.

source: Google+

Google commercial lets you know that you can beat box with 9 of your friends using the Galaxy Nexus and Google+ Hangouts

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by Robert Nazarian on
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YouTube is becoming a major place for commercials these days. Google just launched one showing off Google+ Hangouts with the Galaxy Nexus. Whether this will air on television is anyone’s guess, but it’s pretty cool. What would be cooler is if Verizon Wireless would actually release this beast. While many of us continue to wait, checkout the 3o second spot.

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