If you use the Google Hangouts application for both personal and work, this interests you, since it has little time to live. At the end of 2020 Google announced its final closure. Well, not entirely, it will be integrated into the Google Workspace suite under the name of Google Chat and with some renewed functions.
Google Hangouts closes
Applications to make video calls between friends or work meetings we already have a few on the market, and recently enhanced due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has made many people have connected for the first time to one of these applications to be in contact with your loved ones or even with your boss.
But there are some more used than others, that is why those that have not grown or have worked as expected, disappear, since continuing to invest in their development is not profitable or to unify their products with a new bet for the future. This is the case of Google Hangouts, which first took off as Google Talk before being called Hangouts. Now, from Google they believe that it is the turn to end the era of Hangouts and integrate all their customers in Google Chat , available for some time in the new Google Workspace suite. If you want to continue within the Google ecosystem, calm down, it will not be called the same, it will have more new functions, but it will be more of the same. A facelift.
Life after Hangouts
But not everything is going to be Hangouts or the Google suite, in the market, as we said, we have different alternatives available, each with its pros and cons. Either because of costs or because of integration with your other products, both individuals and companies will have more preference for one application or another. There is for almost every need.
Here is a list of alternatives in case you don’t want to use the new Google Chat.
Zoom
Zoom is one of the applications that has hit hard as a result of the generalized confinement, because it has been made known to a public that until then what they knew about video calls was through applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram, and simply to see each other and talk. Zoom already allows you another series of functions, to be able to hold meetings, write, send files, etc.
One of the reasons for its popularity is that, in addition to being multiplatform and that you can log in through Google or Facebook, it allows you to use all its functions in terms of telematic meetings, with a maximum of 40 minutes. That is why it has become a great ally of small work groups that do not have tools, which, even though they are more powerful, are paid.
Facetime
Until recently, FaceTime was only available to Apple users, either with an iOS or macOS device, but since Cupertino they have realized that opening the use of the platform to other users and operating systems was going to give them a plus. In addition, they have made many improvements in terms of the work environment, especially if you use the new devices of the brand, since with the presentation mode, the camera will follow you and the audio captured by the microphones as well. Of course, it also allows screen sharing and other typical functions of this type of apps.
In the entertainment section, for users of the Apple ecosystem, it allows synchronizing a video display at two points with the video call. That is, I watch a movie at home, I call my friend, we synchronize the movie and we will watch it at the same time, allowing to synchronize the pause, advance, etc. commands. How to be together, but at a distance.
Microsoft Teams
The Microsoft Teams application is one of the most powerful on the market , although its functions are more business than leisure, since to use it in its maximum splendor you will have to go through the box. It allows you to do almost everything you can think of in terms of work environment. Chats, groups, audio calls, video calls, send files, OneDrive connection, desktop sharing and remote control, etc.
Skype
Skype is one of the longest-lived applications , it has been active since 2003. It is currently owned by Microsoft and is ideal for individuals, since it allows you to make both voice and video calls, as well as chats and groups. It also allows you to contract plans and have your own VoIP phone line and thus make calls to conventional landline or mobile phone numbers.
It can be said that he is the grandfather, or one of them, of video calling applications or as a real grandfather would say, of video conferencing. Their evolution is slow but with firm steps, since little by little they have been gaining in connection stability and security.
Webex
The Webex environment is the bet of Cisco, the giant of communications equipment such as swtich, routers, etc. and offers a wide range of options for integration with different products in business environments. One of its strengths is security , since it is capable of working with different encryption systems thanks to the company’s extensive experience in the world of networks.
On the other hand, it may be somewhat less known and not very accessible to the general public, since its products are aimed at large corporations.
Facebook Messenger
The company crowned by Mark Zuckerberg has been taking control of multiple applications throughout the networks. Such is their eagerness to control the lives of people who already have applications that were previously owned by third parties such as Instagram or WhatsApp in their hands. Facebook Messenger was his initial bet but it was not widely used and its capabilities were somewhat limited. With the acquisition of these other two, it has grown to unify all its services (and data).
Of course, these are just some of the applications to alleviate the Hangouts effect if you do not want to continue in the new Google Chat environment. Perhaps it is best to try them to find out which alternative is the one that best suits you and your environment, since there are other applications that prioritize some aspects more than others, such as Slack or Flock, which are more oriented to group work and be permanently connected.
