Google Chat unveiled

Chat or Instant Messaging (IM) hasn't been Google's forte till Google Talk came along six months back. With giants like AOL, Yahoo! & Microsoft walking tall in the IM arena, each enjoying tens of millions of users, it's no wonder Google realized that IM is a vital piece of missing link in its armor for dominating search industry. So when Google Talk came into being, there was palpable excitement in air. Six months later, the buzz around Google Talk has been steadily on decline. Though full of sophisticated features like voice calls, messaging and automatic Gmail check-in, there was something amiss. Given my penchant for all things Google, I for one didn't find Google Talk a necessary requirement for my life on net. In comes Gmail Chat. And what a wonder! Taking over from where Google Talk left, Gmail Chat is a perfect example of engineering skill harmonizing with ease of use. The two complement each other in perfect unison. So what is it Gmail Chat offers that is unique? Well, to put it in short, Gmail Chat merges the functionalities of messaging and emailing under one single umbrella. Look at this pictorial presentation here. In essence, one never needs to leave Gmail to do either messaging (IM) or emailing, or both. Want chatting only? Just pop up a new window and forget you've ever been in Gmail. What's more, your chatting history is automatically stored in Gmail account, available any time to forward as well as search for any keyword. That's done by Google Talk in background while you're still in Gmail, but are you bothered? Not really. It shouldn't concern you a tiny bit so long you get the unified service at one place. Trust Google to spring marvels now and then. I've learnt not to doubt Google's ability to work wonders. On the way, if Google rules the search industry as uncrowned king, so be it.