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Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

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Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#251

Post by kzisme »

thedangler wrote: post #213
karma_vaccum123 wrote: post #20

I know these will be preinstalled on Android, but many friends and family use iOS and I will feel silly asking them to install Duo and Allo. Hangouts is able to mix voice, video and text just fine. Why start requiring separate apps? This is Google at its dumbest. They are squandering the small amount of momentum Hangouts has.

The one thing I hate about hangouts and I could never figure out how to change was when searching for someone to text. It would search googles list of people with google+ and not my contact list first. Random people I don't even know named Mark, for example, would show up for me to text. Still makes no sense to me. I'm on iOS.

This is the most infuriating thing...now I just go through my contacts to find who I want to message (since their number exists but selecting SMS still brings up "On Hangouts")

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#252

Post by untog »

perseusprime11 wrote: post #201
ethanbond wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it wouldn't be Google with any fewer than 4 semi-competing apps in their own portfolio.

My guess is Duo will be like Inbox competing with gmail. I am guessing here but I think Google is on to something around innovation. They are launching innovative future facing apps without the constraints of legacy systems. They will use this approach to figure out which features work and back port them into their legacy apps. Not a bad approach if it works.

But this requires you and all your friends to sign up to yet another system, with yet another account. "Try this app, at has some features that may or may not make it into Hangouts" is not a great sell for my friends.

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#253

Post by VikingCoder »

Senji wrote: post #188
izacus wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yes, Googles insistence to the horrible Chrome plugin (and ONLY chrome plugin, you're SoL if you want to use any other browser) instead of a slim desktop app like iMessage/Telegram is pretty much the reason why I've abandoned Hangouts.

You're aware Hangouts has a firefox plugin too right?

And there's hangouts.google.com if you just want to hit it on a web page...

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#254

Post by msh »

losteverything wrote: post #225

In my entire post tech life and post tech environment I have never seen anyone use, talk or desire to have a video call. (Save 1 when a patron tested FaceTime on their new iPhone.) What will make video calling desireable for the average Joe?

When travelling its nice to be able to video chat with my wife and kids. Its more personal than just voice and my kids seems to like the video part, before they were able to hold interest in a phone call they were interested in the video part.

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#255

Post by msh »

soufron wrote: post #131

Reading the comments... You guys know that any 3G/4G phone with a camera can make videocalls with awesome quality, right ?

Are you talking about 3g video calls?

Quality is absolutely not awesome and then you ware back to paying roaming charges when out of the country....

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#257

Post by cptskippy »

eeeeeeeeeeeee wrote: post #233
dzmien wrote: post #189

Why didn't they just update hangouts? I actually use hangouts for video calls with relative frequency, and I wish it was better adapted to changes in network speed like they say Duo is. I think it would be better if "Duo" was just integrated into hangouts as an update. I like hangouts because it allows me to use one app for voice, text and video.

Seriously. The entire Google Hangouts experience is extremely unfriendly and difficult to use. It's a great service, but the UX is awful. It's hard to get any non-technical person into a Hangouts call for the first time.

Absolutely and the experience in mobile is completely disjointed from the desktop experience. When and what it decides to log is also quite arbitrary.

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#258

Post by camiller »

blokhasie wrote: post #133
soufron wrote: post #123

Wow this is so much the future... Between my 4g video native capability, skype (remember), facetime, etc. that was missing. Thank you Google for putting well-paid engineers to solvant this.

How does this add any value above existing products that do the same?

Well, I heard skype got rid of encryption, while this is encrypted end to end.

You don't run this through your google account, only your phone number is needed to sign up.

The new video protocol supposedly degrades better if you go somewhere where the service is slower.

I'm sure there are others.

Re: Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app

#260

Post by wrsh07 »

syshum wrote: post #205

Not for everyone, just People on Android and ios mobile devices...

By my math and some light search, Android | iOS accounts for 95% of smartphones sold [1], and there are about 2 billion smartphone users [2].

Is 1.9 billion a small number? I understand there are people who don't use smartphones, but this obviously isn't targeted at them. Besides, many people use phones for nearly all personal communication [I use mine for everything, including email].

I certainly get being upset that some apps are mobile only [especially productivity apps]. But this one kind of makes sense.

[1] http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/96-8-percent-new-sma...

[2] http://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartpho...

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