Google+ is taking over Google, one step at a time

Jul 30, 2012 18:21 GMT  ·  By

Google+ is king at Google. That's been true for a year now and it's still as true as in the first day. It's getting "integrated" into anything else and it takes precedence over everything else.

No surprise then that Google is now replacing the video chat feature in Gmail with Hangouts. Voice and video chat aren't the most popular Gmail features, but they're used by quite a few people.

And quite a few of those may not have a Google+ profile just yet. But they're going to have to create one if they plan on using Google for voice and video calls to the full potential.

Granted, Hangouts is the best video chat service out there, if only because it enables up to 10 people to talk at the same time.

It's been one of Google+'s most popular features and it still hasn't been replicated by any of the other social networks or traditional voice and video chat services, at least not for free.

Google, wisely, is not removing the functionality entirely for non-Google+ users. But they'll be limited to one-on-one calls and get none of the extra Hangouts features like YouTube watching or things like virtual mustaches.

"Unlike the old video chat, which was based on peer-to-peer technology, Hangouts utilize the power of Google’s network to deliver higher reliability and enhanced quality," Google boasts.

"You’ll be able to chat with all the same people you did before and, in fact, with Hangouts you’ll now be able to reach them not only when they are using Gmail but also if they are on Google+ in the browser or on their Android or iOS devices," it adds.

The feature is rolling out to some users starting now and will be made available to everyone over the next few weeks.