Google releases Hangouts desktop app

Hangouts, Google's instant-messaging app, has made the jump from the browser to the desktop for computers running Google's Chrome OS and Microsoft's Windows.

 

Software engineer David Levin said this is a "simpler, faster way" to use Hangouts on a computer alongside "whatever else you’re doing."

 

"Keep the conversation going, without taking over your desktop. The app has a streamlined design that keeps your chats accessible without getting in the way of everything else. Your contact list and all your chats are condensed into one easy to toggle window," wrote Levin on the official Chrome blog.

http://chrome.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-simpler-faster-way-to-use-hangouts-on.html

 

He added that the app features integrated notifications that alert a user to new messages, "so you can quickly find the conversation you’re looking for."

 

With the app outside the browser, chats are always available, and not confined to being inside a window.

 

"You’ll get all your messages as long as you have the app running, and your chats will sync across Hangouts on all your devices," he said.

 

The Hangouts app also allows voice calling from the desktop, including Google Voice support, "so you can make and receive calls, and get your voicemails and SMS messages directly in Hangouts." — Joel Locsin/JST, GMA News