After hours of speculation, Google released Google Talk – an instant messenger client.
My impression based solely on screenshots and available information (since there’s no OS X client) is that it’s lackluster. Integrated with Gmail? Great. Free audio chat with any of my friends? Eh, okay, nice. But there’s nothing terribly new or innovative here other than the fact that it’s coming from Google, and Google is obviously starting to morph into a Windows software company (too).
One thing this reminds me of, though, is that many people do use an instant messenger from AOL, MSN, or Yahoo! – but not a multi-protocol client like Trillian (Windows) or Adium (Mac). And I can’t imagine having multiple programs for chat. And Google’s own comparison chart makes Google Talk look somewhat lame.
I guess the only saving grace of Google Talk will be to wonder where this is sending Google and how it’ll be tied into everything else. Maybe in five years, Google Talk will be the dominant standard for instant messaging. Or maybe we’ll all be talking directly to robots.
Posted in Technology