Review: Google's Hangouts app is just too confusing

When Google announced at its I/O developers conference that it was consolidating all its disparate chat and messaging services into one app called ‘Hangouts’ it was one of the most talked about developments. The cross-platform Hangouts app which has replaced Google Talk, Google Plus messenger and Google Plus Hangouts, was touted as a direct competitor to existing mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber and the newly launched BlackBerry Messenger. When announcing the new app, Google revealed that the User Interface (UI) of the app would be a a list of conversations, not contacts. It combines videos and Google Voice calls and you can also share photos on chat. We’ve had a chance to try out the app for a few days now, and this is our verdict: [caption id=“attachment_797985” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Via Google Play[/caption] The new UI is confusing Who is online and who is not? That is the biggest mystery confronting users of the Hangouts app. When you sign into the app, the first thing you see is a list of conversations that you have had with contacts in the past. You have to swipe past that page to come to your list of contacts, which again is arranged by order of ‘frequently contacted’ rather than who is online and who is not.  (Also be careful of where you swipe. Swipe on a conversation and you end up archiving it, rather than moving to the next page) If you scroll down a little further you will see a list of all your contacts. And how it’s supposed to work, is that the profile pictures of offline contacts are faded out, while those who are online are sharper and more in focus. However it’s not that simple. Online and offline contacts are all bunched together with no discernable logic, and sometimes you start messaging someone who ’looks’ like they are online, only to find out that they are not. End result: You find yourself longing for the familiar green, red and orange dots that made chatting so ordered and easy.  This completely discourages you from even using the app in the first place, and even the biggest Google fan may move to WhatsApp or one of the other alternatives. The video option is cool Once you do get past the confusion of figuring out who is online and offline, it starts getting cool. When you click on a contact, you immediately get a pop-up message that asks if you want to send a message, or make a video call. The call and picture clarity is very good, and you get a nice clear video image of the other person. It is also relatively easy to add people to group calls. All you need to do is add the names of contacts who you want in the video call with you and hit the ‘video call’ option. Of course for this to work really smoothly, you need 3G or WiFi connectivity, which in India as we all know, is the exception rather than the rule. Messaging is quick and easy The messaging option is very similar to services like Skype and WhatsApp, at least in terms of simplicity, not to mention the wealth of emoticons available in the options. Adding photographs is also very easy, as there is a ‘camera’ icon next to the area where you type which allows you to easily attach photographs from your gallery or immediately take a picture and send that across instead. Also the fact that you can use emoticons in captions of images is cool. Final verdict: Google’s decision to consolidate all its chat options is greatly welcome, and a long time coming, and this app has the potential to become a true WhatsApp/BBM/Viber killer. But the user interface to our mind at least, needs to go back to the basics. Making the UI conversation-based was not really necessary, and the alternative that Google has provided is confusing and not very user friendly. This is a pity, because once you do start using it, the features are a real joy to use.