3 Things You Didn"t know about Skype, Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger - http://clapway.com/2016/01/21/3-things-you-didnt-know-about-skype-google-hangouts-and-facebook-messenger/

Google Hangouts, Skype, and Facebook Messenger are all very well known services. However, there may be some features on these services that you did not know about. The following are just three aspects that you might not have known about:

FEATURE 1: FREE OF CHARGE

Now, many people are probably aware that Google Hangouts allows users to talk, and call, users without paying. However, Facebook Messenger also allows you to partake in free video calls. This was an update that Facebook released, and if you did not know about this then now you do! Also, Skype made communication free before many others did. Users can set up a voicemail with their Skype account, for only a few dollars and month, and then it is free for people to reach you with it.

FEATURE 2: THE ABILITY TO MUTE

Let’s face it, sometimes we get the urge to want to mute someone. Not only this but the ability to mute annoying noises with each service is sometimes necessary. Muting a video call in Skype is pretty evident, but Facebook Messenger actually allows users to mute a conversation for up to a full day. Google Hangouts also does something similar, as they allow users to mute notification sounds. The ability to mute can make the overall experience of these services much better.

FEATURE 3: BLOCKING

Many people are simply not aware of the fact that you can block someone in Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts. When users do this, they prevent the person they are blocking from contacting them in any way. Also, speaking of blocking, Skype has actually seen some industries and countries ban it. Also, network administrators have tread lightly with Skype due to certain aspects. One of those aspects is the security concerns of the software, and the other is the bandwidth problem.

3 Things You Didn"t know about Skype, Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger

Skype One Ups Facetime and Google Hangouts with New Update - http://clapway.com/2016/01/13/skype-one-ups-facetime-and-google-hangouts-with-this-new-update-123/

Skype is celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2016, and they’ve brought in an update that will out Google Hangouts and Facetime to shame. People can now group video call for free on iPhones, iPads, Android devices and Windows 10 devices.

Group Video Had Only Been Available for Mac and PC

Even though the update rolled out for desktop versions of the application, this is the first time it is available for mobile, and for free. According to the announcements, mobile group video calling will be gradually rolling out to their hundreds of millions of mobile users in the next few weeks.

There was no exact launch date specified. However, the platform will provide users with a pre-registration form for those who want early access to the update. Said form only requires user’s emails, their username, location and type of device. Upon registration, the platform will send users an email to set up the update for their mobile device. The announcement did not specify if the update will require beta software installation or if the update will be made in-app.

Skype Through the Years

Skype has become a household name. It has nearly completely replaced the term ‘video calling’ and become a verb of itself. The platform has more than 750 million mobile users and has seen 10x grown since 2014.

The Platform is Killing Google Hangouts, Chat and FaceTime

The platform has also seen many positive changes for accessibility. It has enabled video messaging, real-time speech and instant message translation. Not Facetime nor Google Hangouts have any of these features. Both platforms seem very lacking compared to Skype. Now that multiple group video calling is free and available on mobile, it might be the end FaceTime. A link can now bring you into Skype communications, even if you don’t have an account. Over the past decade, Skype says it has generated nearly 2 trillion minutes of free Skype calls worldwide. With the rollout of group calls on mobile, that figure will certainly continue to grow.

The service has hosted over 2 trillion of free Skype calls globally in the past ten years, and this number will keep growing. Google Hangouts and Chat aren’t nearly as popular as Skype, and it shares one thing in common with FaceTime. These services are both usually used just for convenience. Undoubtedly, it’s time to step it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cLOijHs-rk

Skype One Ups Facetime and Google Hangouts with New Update

For fans of #Google #Hangouts -- you won"t wanna miss this! - http://clapway.com/2015/08/18/google-unveils-a-brand-new-standalone-website-for-hangouts-323/

When it comes to messaging on Android devices, Google offers an impressive amount of ways you can get it done, but it can be overwhelming. There are technically three first-party messaging apps: Messenger, Hangouts, and Voice; plus the myriad of other third-party messaging apps like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.

All of that is going to change because Google is now making Hangouts a top level product, and has already launched the app’s very own dedicated website.

Hangouts 4.0

Google has been updating many of Android’s core apps in anticipation of Android Marshmallow, which was confirmed earlier this week. A lot of the changes to Hangouts 4.0 were incredibly welcomed. The app received a sleeker look to it as it was finally updated to support Android 5.0’s material design. That means it’s not only sleeker looking but more touch friendly, and is simpler to navigate all around.

Check out more news from Google here!

Previously, Google’s Messenger app was the go-to for many Android users since it was implemented as a regular SMS replacement app for stock phones. Hangouts was missing some of the simpler features that Messenger already incorporated.

Hangout Features

The inclusion of a standalone website now gives Hangouts a few advantages over its younger brother. Previously users could only use Hangouts through their Gmail, but now users have a beautifully designed website with an intuitive interface. Chats are synced up across all Android, iOS, and any other web-enabled devices, so being connecting is easy.

Voice integration is also a big selling feature, which was already present in previous iterations of Hangouts, but now users are able to use MMS in Voice messages as well.

The standalone site is very simplistic in design. There is a beautiful background image that changes periodically (just like Chromecast), there is a chat bar on the left side along with contacts, phone, and options menu buttons. The main meat of the app simply shows off the gorgeous wallpapers and has three easy buttons that allows users to quickly jump into a phone call, video call, or a quick text message.

Availability

Hangouts 4.0 should now be available to just about everyone at this point. If you don’t already have it then there is probably a notification sitting in your notification panel asking you to update the app. The website can be reached through hangouts.google.com. For users who still want to chat through Gmail, you can do that too! For the time being, Google has no plans to take out the option. So, go check out the new Google Hangouts site and let us know what you think in the comments!

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Google Unveils a Brand New Standalone Website for Hangouts