Google Talk Tries to be Spiffy

google talk logoGoogle announced three new features to its instant messaging software, Google Talk:

File Transfer
‘Bout time. Its absence may have been the reason why many have stayed away from it. It’s reported that only 44,000 were using Google Talk, or 1% of total market share — way behind MSN Messenger (60%) and Yahoo! Messenger (23%). People like to chat and share stuff, it’s a given fact.

file recipe statusbar

Voicemail
Just a little addon to its voice messaging feature. People can leave “I called but you weren’t around” messages. No big deal.

voicemail away

Music Status
Shows what the person on the other side is listening to. Supports iTunes, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, and Yahoo Music Engine. Again, what’s the fuss?

music status

With the new Yahoo! Messenger 8 released with plugin support, Google has got their work cut out for them.

On the web: What’s New on Google Talk?

2 comments

  1. MSN and YM is too bloated with “features” and stuff. I sure hope GTalk is not going to head into that direction. I do admit, however, that the file transfer and the voicemail features are good additions to the service. The file transfers are a bit slow though, but that could just be me.

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