Google Talk, launched last week, is Google's foray into voice messaging, and will take the erstwhile internet search company a step further into communications and firmly into the territory of such rivals as Yahoo!, AOL and especially (with the launch also of a new Desktop tool to rival Windows), Microsoft's MSN.
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So what exactly is the difference between Google Talk and all of these well-established instant messenger services, and how does it work?
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First, the simliarities. On downloading Google Talk (you'll need a recent version of Microsoft Windows "" 2000 or higher "" and the entire download, which is 900 KB, will take only a few seconds if you have broadband), a window very much like that of MSN or Yahoo! Messenger will come up.
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You will have the same kind of 'buddy' list that all of these chat engines use "" all of your contacts from your Gmail account will already be added for you, and you can invite other friends as well.
Instant Messengers | | Worldwide users, July 2005 (m) | % change on year | MSN Messenger Service | 178.2 | 22 | Yahoo! Messenger | 78.8 | -4 | AOL: | | | AIM.com/AIM App | 34.4 | 0 | AOL Instant Message | 30 | -2 | ICQ Instant Message | 29.2 | -22 | Sources: Lehman Brothers; comScore Media Metrix |
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This main window has four basic menu options "" Inbox, Setting, Help and Add Friend. If you click on one of your contacts, another little box pops up, with two options "" Email and Call.
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"Email" will obviously take you to a "Compose" page in your Gmail account, and clicking on "Call" will allow you to have a voice conversation almost immediately with one of your online contacts.
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By all accounts, this voice conversation is of superior quality to most of the other instant messaging services, and may be one of the reasons that users may come to prefer Google Talk over them.
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Otherwise, for anyone who is used to Yahoo! or MSN, this first version of Google Talk will appear a little minimalist, even slightly crude "" there aren't any emoticons, for instance, and the entire format is slightly bland. Unlike MSN or Yahoo!
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Messenger, Google Talk won't give you the latest news or allow you to link to any websites, but on the plus side, it is also ad-free. Oddly enough for Google, the main Google Talk window does not even have a search box.
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Other limitations include the fact that there are no video chat features and you cannot share files or images, or post your pictures online. Frills such as creating an 'avatar' on Yahoo! Messenger or customising the appearance of your desktop icon are also absent, as are alternative online status options.
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With Google Talk, you're either either online or you're offline. There are none of the in-between features ("Out to lunch", "On the phone" or the best of all, "Appear Offline"), so valuable to MSN users.
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Also unlike either Yahoo! or MSN, you need to be invited to Google Talk, and can only use it if you have a Gmail account (although if someone invites you, you automatially get signed up for a one).
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According to the Financial Times though, Google plans to make Gmail freely available to anyone in the US who can provide a mobile telephone number, and this policy should soon be extended to other countries.
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Google Talk will obviously be of great use to anyone who has relatives or friends abroad, but ultimately it is a tool clearly still in its nascency "" the "discount motel room of instant messaging," as one online review puts it "" especially when compared with such sophisticated tools as Yahoo! Messenger with Voice and the ultra-new MSN Messenger 7.5.
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The latter, for instance, has a feature called Voice Clip that allows users to record and send upto 15 seconds of sound and has much better audio quality as well than previous versions of MSN Messenger.
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Still, used in conjuction with your Gmail account and other Google tools, and with the rumours of exciting upgrades to come, Google Talk could still prove an imaginative addition to your desktop. |
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