Google Launches A Dedicated Hangouts Site
Although it was not exactly successful as a social network, some of the features associated with Google + have been spun off into their own sites including, most recently, Google Hangouts.
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As predicted, Google has begun the process of spinning off its popular Hangouts from Google+ by launching a new dedicated Hangouts site.
The new site allows you to do everything from instant messaging to one-on-one video calls to the killer app of G+ – group Hangouts, or Hangouts On Air.
The new site looks good and is easy to use compared to Google+. There's a navigation panel on the left side that allows you to switch between your phone contacts, chat contacts and conversations, but the main part consists of the big three buttons in the middle of the screen (see the graphic on the left). These allow you to immediately initiate a video call, phone call or message.
Everything is pretty much the same as it is in G+ after you initiate a call.
This is only the latest step in dismantling Google+ as Photos was spun off from the service in February.
While not a success as a social network, Google+ did have a few killer features in Photos and Hangouts, and thankfully they'll continue to live on.