(Migrated weblog post from LSR)
I guess that the rumours are now finally over. And just like I mentioned, not too long after the rumours were growing rather strong, we get to find out that Google releases Google Talk (or GTalk).
And by the looks of it almost everybody in the Blogosphere seems to have been talking about it. And if not check out the Technorati Search on Google Talk and you will find out that in just a single day there have been already 4,671 posts. Very few beta applications reach that level of popularity in such a short period of time, I would think. And I wouldn’t be surprise given all the recent discussions about Google trying to enter the Instant Messaging world.
Somehow it has grabbed everybody’s attention and I just couldn’t help commenting myself on it as well, why not?, since I am just such a big fan of VoIP / Instant Messaging. Yes, I know you have heard / read about it already (You are probably getting tired of all the hype around it already, even though it is its first day out) but just for those who may not have seen it yet, GTalk is the latest VoIP / IM to enter the market after quite a few other offerings, that I have weblogged about in my weblog previously.
Although it may be a bit too early actually, since I have just tried it with a couple of folks, and for not too long, I thought I would go ahead and share 5 reasons why I liked it and another 5 reasons why I wasn’t very much impressed for this first release, at least. So without any further delay here we go with that review:
Things I like about GTalk:
Ok, now with the things that I was not so pleased about and that I hope they get addressed in future releases.
Things I don’t like about GTalk:
I strongly believe that this is actually one of the very few issues that would kill Google Talk if it is not addressed at some point. I know we are all worried if our VoIP / IM calls are encrypted or not and secure enough or not, so knowing that, at least, at this point in time GTalk does not offer that it would make people think about it twice before joining the hype, specially when some other so far much more powerful competitors offer that capability as a standard. We shall see what happens in future versions.
Note: On the other hand, things may not be that easy. According to this other weblog post, Google does seem to encrypt IM messages. And that is just great, but what about the Voice messages? Nothing mentioned on that subject and till I don’t see it written down elsewhere I doubt it would really reach a nice momentum with a good enough critical mass to be at the same level as other VoIP clients. We shall see.
Ok, so that was it. A rather long weblog post, I know, to share some of my experiences on what I think GTalk is like and what it will need to do to be at the same level of other VoIP / IM competitors. You may be wondering what I would be doing myself with this new client, right? Well, not much initially, as I am planning to continue using externally Skype, to me, the one VoIP / IM client that sets the standards and the one that needs to be beaten from all the different options available out there. However, just in case you may want to give GTalk a try with me you can always find me at the same address that is included in my weblog template under the E-Mail and Skype section.
Also if you are looking for another interest comparison between GTalk and Skype check out the following weblog post: Google Talk vs Skype. A really good reading that would give you a good overview of where both stand and how they may progress in the near future.
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