New Google Talk "Labs Edition" Launched

The other day, Google released a new version of Google Talk, called "Labs Edition".

Garrett Rogers of ZDNet has already talked about it. The new version contains additions, however, some features have been removed. Among the new features support for emoticons, notifications for Orkut and Google Calendar, the ability to create group chats. In cosmetic changes, for example, when you open a chat, tabs appear in the contact window, instead of opening individual windows. This allows you to save space on your desktop.


As for the missing functions, now at the bottom of the window there is no link to GMail, but reports of new letters still appear. The two most missing features are the lack of voice chat and file transfer. It looks like a regression against the IM platform. On the other hand, this indirectly confirms the rumors that Google is going to buy Skype.
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Visually, Labs Edition looks more polished compared to the regular version, but at the same time there is a feeling of incompleteness. Integration with AIM, which is present in the online version built into GMail, is still not supported. This looks like an oversight; many people expected a new version of integration with a popular protocol in the west.

In general, this is really a step forward. The main thing is not to forget that this is a project from Google Labs. I advise you to just play a few days with the new version, in order to understand whether you need this functionality or not.

Download Google Talk "Labs Edition" here . ©