Hangouts

The official application of Google, Hangouts sets the objective to open instant communication between users. You can type, video chat or even dial friends and family members for free phone calls, depending on where they live. Hangouts replaces the old Google Talk because it integrates better with the Google+ Ecosystem.

Since Google Talk, Hangouts added new features to their classic messaging tool. For example, Google added more visual materials, emoticons and photographs to the classic massaging system. Because of these new features, you can express yourself better than ever before, seeing as you have hundreds to choose from. Identical to Google Talk, you can switch text-based conversations over to video conferences. During a video conference, you can hook up with 10 people at a time, which unfortunately, does not stack up to Skype's video conferences where 25 people can connect to instant video chat. You can also have group chats of up to 150 people, but Skype lets you have group chats with 300 people.

Hangouts' accessibility looks much better than Google Talk's, and you can hook up to this service from every platform, including smartphone, tablet, laptop and iPad. The software also lets users record their conversations. Let's say you need to save photographs from someone who shared pictures with you. You can add the pictures to a personalized folder. The downside of the latest software, however, is how it does not let users switch to "invisible mode." Once you connect, you can't hide it. The calling rates of Google Hangouts are also very reasonable to many of the countries where you want to dial friends and family.

Pros

• Free phone calls to US and Canada
• Video conferences with 10 people
• Many new visual materials to express yourself
• Integrates with every major platform

Cons

• No invisible mode

• Bug fixes

• Android 8.0+ devices: Customized ring and chat message tones for individual classic Hangouts conversations and contacts will be removed. You can still customize general ring tones and messaging sounds for classic Hangouts by accessing Settings via the Menu section of the app.