14 DAY TRIAL // Gmail is one of the most popular email services in the world and most people use it just for that, email. But Google has been adding services on top of it, sometimes not to everyone’s approval. One of the earliest such moves was the integration of Google Talk with the addition of Gmail chat. The feature eventually got support for voice, video and even group chat. Google is now introducing a few changes that should make all those features more visible and get more people to use them.
“Video chat, voice chat, and group chat have all been available for some time within Gmail, but they've been curiously tucked away. Getting them up and running required fidgeting with a little menu at the bottom of each chat window. Starting today, all of these features will be just a single click away,” Josh Teague, user experience designer at Google, wrote.
“One of the more subtle benefits to surfacing these chat options is that it's easier for people to get started who don't yet have the voice and video chat plugin,” he explained.
Getting people to use the chat feature was simple enough. At one point, after a quick exchange of emails, one realizes that maybe it would be easier to just use the integrated chat than to send short emails back and forth. And with the Chat contacts list prominently displayed, it was simple to get started.
With voice and video, it’s not that simple. First of all, the features require users to install a browser plugin. This can be enough of a headache, but getting to the actual video and voice chat features wasn’t as easy as it could have been either.
With the new chat window, all of these features are available from buttons in the top toolbar. The three buttons are, from left to right, video chat, voice chat and group chat. There is also an Actions menu, which enables users to “Go off the record” or block the other participant. Finally, if a chat buddy doesn’t have the video and voice plugin installed, one can invite them to do so just by clicking a button in the chat toolbar.