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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

#271

Post by ashark »

dredmorbius wrote: post #90
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, Google Search and Gmail were REALLY GOOD back when Google made really good products, and they both seem to be treated as sacred there. Neither has received truly radical changes to fit with Google's new and often transient business focuses. Had Google made the mistake of replacing Gmail with Inbox, Gmail would've gone the way of everything else Google's done lately. But it seems like someone rightfully has ensu…

If anything, both Google Search and Gmail have received negative changes. I've been using DDG for years, though I'll return to Google Web search periodically (Books and Scholar I use more often). It's nagware that's begging me to make it my default browser (no, you blew through that trust relation ages ago, sweetheart), and long before then stopped providing actual usable URL links in favour of its craptacular redire…

Basic HTML Gmail (yes, the one that loads the entire page again for almost any action) is so much faster than AJAXified Gmail (let alone Inbox) that it's worth a couple missing features to use it instead, IMO.

Which is incredibly stupid since maybe the biggest original selling point of AJAX was "it's faster because you don't have to reload the whole page".

And of course the memory use is way, way lower. Especially than Inbox, which is a resource hog.

IMO most google products have been getting steadily worse since ~2008/09. Including things like Youtube.

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

#272

Post by pavel_lishin »

camiller wrote: post #258
blokhasie wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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

This does not add any value if I want to have two different Duo accounts - e.g., one for personal use, and one for business use.

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

#273

Post by 1_2__3 »

wrsh07 wrote: post #260
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 tha…

Yes, it matters. Google et al. we trying to convince the world desktop is dead because they make more money on mobile. Maybe fine for snap chatting teens, but the rest of the world needs grown-up software that Google doesn't want to bother to provide.

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

#274

Post by tdkl »

Tobold wrote: post #238
tdkl wrote: post #97

No desktop support, one device only, they must be joking.[1] I just hope it can be disabled with rest of the Google bloatware when I buy my next phone. [1] http://www.reddit.com/r/android/comments/4xxnjl/_/d6jawai

Yes, this my major complaint, too. I have 3 Android devices and can use this only on the one that has a SIM card? And even if the others had SIM cards, they'd be on different accounts? WTF.

Viber solves this. You need a phone number to create an account, but other devices can be added as trusted devices.

When you install the client on such device, Viber app on the main phone serves as a authenticator and displays a QR code/PIN that you enter on the other device. This adds the other device as trusted and can use the account, contacts get synced to it.

I have no clue who in Google really thinks their solution will be popular. Someone need to shake up that company a bit and make it step out of their bubble.

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

#276

Post by technofiend »

Navarr wrote: post #216
nitin_flanker wrote: post #2

Why is Google launching multiple apps with similar functionalities? They already had Hangouts, they recently launched a group sharing app "Spaces". And now a new video calling app "Duo". They also have an app "Allo" which is another chatting platform. I am not complaining or anything, I am just curious about what are they planning to do with their old apps? i.e. Hangouts?

AndroidPolice has an article today[1] that Hangouts has failed as an all-in-one messaging platform. They're going to focus it in on the enterprise - where usage is much more prevalent, apparently - whatever that means. Hangouts is likely to become a Google Apps Slack competitor, I guess. [1]: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/08/16/google-planning-focu...

I guess it depends on the enterprise... lots of places outright block google services: drive, e-mail, hangouts, etc.

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

#277

Post by ocdtrekkie »

comex wrote: post #103

> You shouldn’t have to worry about whether your call will connect, or if your friend is using the same type of device as you are. ...From the blurb from app that only runs on two operating systems (notably excluding Windows Phone), is proprietary (preventing third party clients from being written for other systems), and has no support for desktop operating systems (laptops are devices too). On the last point, I supp…

Credit where credit is due, most Microsoft apps, like Skype, work on Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows. I have gravitated to Skype not because it isn't an awful piece of software (it totally is), but because nobody can tell me they can't run it.

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

#278

Post by gvb »

ende wrote: post #5

Have they announced when it will be discontinued?

Have they announced when Hangouts will be discontinued?

First they deprecated SMS on Hangouts. Now they have replicated the video and voice portion. The next shoe to drop will be discontinuing Hangouts.

Ref: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/google-hangouts-7-0-f...

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

#279

Post by gvb »

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #45

I still think this is a huge mistake. It's great it's easy to use but now Google has two products that do video chat and they do not work together; why? If they eventually discontinue Hangouts then now we have to use two apps for texting and video? The past several years have shown that providing a more integrated experienced typically brings a better user experience so this just smacks as a mistake.

They already have two products for SMS: Messenger and Hangouts, and they have deprecated SMS in Hangouts. Now they have two products for video chat.

The linear line through the data points says Hangouts are going away.

Ref: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/google-hangouts-7-0-f...

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

#280

Post by asciihacker »

yomly wrote: post #106
tonfa wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WhatsApp is not specially an emerging market product, I think it is the most popular chat app in a bunch of European countries.

Yeah haha - the concept of people not using WhatsApp is as alien to me as people who use WhatsApp is alien to the parent comment. In the last 4/5 years, the only time I've met people not on WhatsApp were Chinese (WeChat) or Korean (Kakao) so basically. Amongst people I've just met it's pretty common to go straight to WhatsApp now when "adding" each other

WhatsApp does not run on tablets and I only have a tablet. I make calls on it and everything. Just can run WhatsApp.
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