Word came this week that Google has finally integrated AOL instant messaging into Google Talk, the company’s Gmail instant messenger. This announcement comes pretty late in the game, as Google has held a $1 billion share in AOL for a couple of years now.
The result of this integration is that Gmail users will now be able to access their AIM accounts directly from Google Talk. Users can also access their AOL Buddy Lists when using Google Talk, alongside their usual Gmail contacts.
Google’s decision to include AOL instant messaging directly into its Gmail Google Talk application makes a lot of sense, but it would have been much more relevant a couple of years ago, before the instant messaging market got so competitive and overcrowded.
And there are already various services that facilitate using different instant messaging programs within a single application. Sites such as Meebo, Adium and others have jumped in to fill this void in the marketplace long ago, leaving Google a late newcomer to the party.
Google’s latest Gmail update also includes colored labels to more easily identify your saved e-mails, a simple feature that has been sadly lacking from the Gmail roster thus far.
As far as the AIM integration into Gmail, most users would not even notice the difference unless they were specifically looking for it. For example, the AIM login is located within the Google Talk “status” indicator in the contact list. The drop-down menu now includes an option to sign in to your AIM account.
After signing into your AIM account, your AOL Buddy List will appear, seamlessly integrated within your Gmail contacts. Overall, it is a nice feature, and very well implemented, even if it would have been considerably more relevant 18 to 20 months ago.
While the addition of AOL instant messaging and colored tabs is not likely to sway the “Google haters” out there, these kind of small touches do contribute to the overall usability of the Gmail interface, resulting in one of the most intuitive and highly functional e-mail programs ever produced.
When compared to Windows-based e-mail, such as the ubiquitous Outlook program, Gmail is far easier to use, and includes a lightning fast search function that can locate any topic among your saved e-mails quickly.
Considering that Gmail also offers approximately 5 GB of storage space, it’s easy to see why Google’s proprietary e-mail service has been gaining users at a staggering rate over the past few years. Integration with AOL’s Instant Messenger is simply the icing on the cake.
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The new AIM connectivity is sweet
Overall the new AIM inclusion is great. Ive been using it for a week now and its helped me to get back in touch with my old contacts.
Good as it is, it doesnt go far enough. Google should add other services too, like msn, ICQ, QQ (with it’s 100 million users here in china), etc.
Also there are a few problems, err shortcomings, that they have yet to overcome: you cant send files, or do anything other then plaintext chat (no voice, no sending pictures).
These shortcomings aren’t trivial, but they also dont impede standard text-chat use….
Comment by Alex Miller — December 14, 2007 @ 1:41 am