So who’s ready for more Google Babel news? Well, Google has already let one cat out of the bag today, and that was the Google Play Store revamp. Now it appears we are getting some new information in regards to Google’s upcoming unified chat service. We’ve been seeing leaks of Babel all week long. This evening, Droid-Life is reporting on some rather interesting features coming To Babel. These aren’t just little features, but huge features like synced notifications, cross-platform conversation experiences, a new UI, and so much more.
It’s said that Google Babel is the project of many of Google’s teams. That includes work from Google+, Android, Chrome and the Apps team. Thanks to the collaboration between those 4 teams, we’ll see this new unified chat service launch for Gmail, Android, iOS, and on Chrome OS. Google is also saying that this will be the first time that they have provided a “first class” iOS experience. Now I don’t own any iDevices, so I can’t speak on how good or bad their current iOS apps are. But from what I’ve heard they are already pretty good.
There’s also talk that Google Voice support will “eventually” come to Babel. But at launch it’s going to bring Google Talk, Hangouts, and Messenger together. Many of us were hoping to see Google Voice included at launch, but it looks like we won’t. But all Google Voice support is not lost as of yet. Google also says we’ll see notification syncing across platforms. So if you have your browser open on your desktop and tablet, and they are attached to your Babel account, once you receive a message and check it on a device the notification will disappear on the others. This is something I’m really looking forward too.
Then there’s the brand new UI which promotes conversations and will be applied across all the platforms that Babel will be a part of. You will be able to send photos, use over 800 different emojis, look at any on-the-record chats, and group chat.
Here is the feature list from a Google Memo
- Brand new UI. We’ve designed a new UI that’s applied across all clients and promotes conversations.
- Stay in sync. With just one conversation list and experience across mobile and desktop, everything is always in sync. Install the Chrome app, the Android app, and iOS app.
- Desktop app. Stop laying whack a mole across blinking browser tabs. With the new Chrome app your conversations continue outside of the browser.
- Keep a group conversation going to coordinate with your team, and start a Hangout with a single tap whenever you need to talk face-to-face.
- Be notified…just once. Get notifications on your two phones, tablet, laptop, and desktop. Open it on one and watch the others disappear. If you’re actively using your computer or phone we’ll even intelligently notify you on just one of those endpoints. Magic!
- Message more than just text. Add a photo to the conversation and/or send some of the 800+ emoji to your coworkers. Kittens and poop are particularly helpful in explaining complex issues.
- Get nostalgic. Scroll back in time and relive any (on-the-record) conversation, on any device.
- More ways to talk. For the first time we are building a first class iOS experience. Try out our very early preview on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m getting more and more excited about Google Babel every day. It seems every day we are getting new information about this unified chat service. At this rate, we may not see it at Google I/O, it might launch before hand. But I’d still keep my hopes up for Google I/O that way you’re not disappointed.
How many of you are desperately awaiting Google Babel? I know I am so I can actually use Google+ Messenger. I really dislike the fact that it’s on mobile only and no way to use it on the desktop.
Source: Droid-Life