Google (News - Alert) caused headaches for telecoms and enabled many to use voice-over-IP (VoIP) for the first time when it released Google Voice several years ago. The VoIP service lets anyone with a telephone make calls over the Internet for free in the U.S. or more cheaply if placing an international call.
Now, Google is once again making headlines with an update to its Google Hangouts service for iOS, ostensibly a free unified communications solution that individuals and groups can use on their iPhone (News - Alert) or iPad to communicate and collaborate.
Google Hangouts combines instant messaging, video, audio and VoIP calling, and competes with the likes of Skype (News - Alert) and WhatsApp, over-the-top (OTT) services that have been stealing market share from telecom services as people increasingly use such services instead of placing traditional calls or using text messaging as much.
Version 2.0 of the Google Hangouts app for iOS makes the service feel more robust on Apple (News - Alert) devices, brings 10-second audio file recording (a popular feature in WhatsApp), and animated emoticons.
Prior to the new version, some believed that Google Hangouts felt like a Web app in a thin native wrapper. The new version has gone a long way toward fixing that.
“It's not perfect yet — some of the interface is directly manipulable, some of it isn't,” noted an article by Ana Sayfa in Periscope Post. “That it's getting better is a good sign, however.”
Sayfa added: “Google still values iPhone and iPad owners' attention and since communications is the hottest thing in mobile right now — just ask WhatsApp, it's where a lot of developer attention will go as well, big and small.”
The update helps Google keep its offerings relevant in an increasingly crowded market for OTT services.
One of the hottest areas in tech right now is VoIP and unified communications because many feel that the technology upends the entire telecom space and even services such as Facebook (News - Alert). There’s no clear winner yet despite venerable OTT VoIP solutions such as Skype, and both existing communications firms and new entrants are vying to be the service of choice since OTT VoIP benefits from the network effect of widespread adoption encouraging further adoption, not unlike Facebook has done with social networking.
Concurrent with this battle over OTT VoIP is the general trend of moving away from traditional calling toward VoIP solutions. VoIP makes a lot of sense both for businesses and households in that it is dramatically cheaper for calling, and it brings extra features such as call-hunting and interactive voice response.
For business users, VoIP also adds flexibility to integrate calling with company data sources, and added mobility.
The battle for the OTT VoIP king still rages, and every day more people and businesses discover the power of IP communications.
Edited by Alisen Downey