Chat
or Instant
Messaging (IM) hasn’t been Google’s forte till Google Talk came
along six months back. With giants
like AOL, Yahoo! & Microsoft walking
tall in the IM arena, each enjoying tens of millions of users, it’s no wonder
Google realized that IM is a vital piece of missing link in its armor for
dominating search industry. So when Google Talk came into being, there was
palpable excitement in air.
Six
months later, the buzz around Google Talk has been steadily on decline. Though
full of sophisticated features like voice calls,
messaging and automatic Gmail
check-in, there was something amiss. Given my penchant for all things Google, I
for one didn’t find Google Talk a necessary requirement for my life on net.
In
comes Gmail Chat. And what a wonder! Taking over from where Google Talk left,
Gmail Chat is a perfect example of engineering skill harmonizing with ease of
use. The two complement each other in perfect unison.
So
what is it Gmail Chat offers that is unique? Well, to put it in short, Gmail
Chat merges the functionalities of messaging and emailing under one single
umbrella. Look at Gmail Chat's pictorial presentation. In essence, one never needs to leave
Gmail to do either messaging (IM) or emailing, or both. Want
chatting only?
Just pop up a new window and forget you’ve ever been in Gmail.
What’s
more, your chatting history is automatically stored in Gmail account, available
any time to forward as well as search for any keyword. That’s done by Google
Talk in background while you’re still in Gmail, but are you bothered? Not
really. It shouldn’t concern you a tiny bit so long you get the unified service
at one place.
Trust
Google to spring marvels now and then. I’ve learnt not to doubt Google’s
ability to work wonders. On the way, if Google rules the search industry, so be
it.