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Its game over for Gtalk

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CIOL Writers
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CIOL Its game over for Gtalk

Google talk, better known as Gtalk or GChat is finally getting replaced with Hangouts, which was first released in 2013 to take its place. Apparently, Google left users an option to stick with the older interface if they wanted to. But, not anymore, past June 26 when anyone still using Gchat will be forcibly transitioned over to Hangouts.

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The Google Talk Android app will also stop functioning, as will any third-party apps designed for Talk. Google also confirmed that it will be removing SMS support from Hangouts, and encouraging Android users to switch over to the newly renamed Android Messages app.

Google introduced Google Talk into the Gmail experience back in 2005 to provide users with an easy messaging tool and some loyalists have continued to use the chat service till now. And while Google has been trying to get people to switch over to Hangouts for the last four years, looks like, that transition will soon be over. Google Talk user on Gmail will soon start seeing prompts, inviting them to make the switch to Hangouts.

The move is another shot by tech giant to re-align Hangouts into a viable business messaging tool to take on competitors like Slack. Hangouts was recently segregated into two enterprise-focused apps called Chat and Meet. While Chat is aimed at casual messaging with your colleagues, Meet will be useful for video or audio calls on the go.

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