I don’t know how much bigger Google can get but they sure are trying to trump the competition. Google is always on the top of their game when it comes to new features. We found out today that they were releasing Gmail video and voice chat so we had to take a quick peak. Video and voice chat, sounds pretty nifty and simple, right? Well, we sure like the idea of starting a video chat right in our internet browsers.
Installation wasn’t too difficult. When installed on a Windows Vista OS it didn’t take a while for the plug-in to actually work. This could be due to the fact that it is Vista OS (likely) or the fact that Google just started the roll out feature (still likely). Eventually, after countless reloads, all is right in the Vista world. Windows XP performed much better (what a surprise) and took a liking to the new plug-in.
In Gmail, the chat box clearly shows which of your contacts has enabled video chat. Which is useful, of course, you could always invite whichever of your lames friends hasn’t installed it yet.
Our favorite feature is the slight delay you have so you can make sure you look appropriate for a video chat. When someone rings you, you will see your webcam pop up so you can take a quick look at yourself before answering.
Try out Gmail video chat for yourself by downloading the FREE plug-in at http://mail.google.com/videochat.
