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Google Talk down for 'majority of users' (update: services restored)
Google (and several users) are reporting widespread outage on its Talk service. Although there's no time set for when the service might return, Google says that it's "continuing to investigate this issue," aiming to give a status update later today, at 1:50PM ET. The service has been reportedly down for two hours. Update: And it appears to be back, according to both Google and our own accounts. Some users appeared to get an early return to full service, while others had to wait for the mobile apps to recover. Apologizing for the outage, Google stated that, "system reliability is a top priority," and that the company is "making continuous improvements to make our systems better." [Thx Mrigesh]
Google Talk video chat finally available over T-Mobile 3G and 4G (video)
Remember how excited we all were when we found out that Android 2.3.4 would bring video chat to Google Talk on the Nexus S? Only to have our hopes and dreams smashed when we discover that it didn't work over 3G on T-Mobile. Well, it seems the carrier has quietly flipped a switch, and now all you Nexus owners can GChat face-to-face over HSPA+. Surely this an historic day, one that will go down in the annals of mobile history -- or, you know, at least one that deserves an exasperated "finally!" Check out the video proof after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google Apps is moving on, you'll need an HTML5 browser to go with it
HTML5 beckons the world with its dashing logo and also, we suppose, all the clever little things it can do. Desktop notifications in Gmail and folder-dragging in Docs already refuse to work with anything less -- and before long that will apply to the entirety of Google Apps. Come August 1st, you will find that Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites are all unsupported unless you're using either the current or last major release of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. An older browser won't suddenly stop working with Google Apps, but it will begin a steady descent into oblivion. Hey, being popular means you don't have to be nice.
Confirmed: T-Mobile blocking GTalk video chat over 3G on Nexus S
Many Nexus S owners received a rude surprise when attempting to initiate an Android 2.3.4 video chat on T-Mobile's 3G network. Rather than being greeted by a smiling friend on the screen, a terse message explained "You must be connected to a WiFi network to start a video chat." Ouch. Doing the responsible thing, we tested the issue and were able to confirm that T-Mo is blocking this headline feature -- which worked just dandily over Sprint's 3G network on the Nexus S 4G. While the latest Gingerbread update includes built-in support for 3G video chat, Google has left the decision to mobile carriers whether to implement the functionality. We know choice is great, but when it ultimately hinders consumers, we'd really prefer an iron-fisted display of strength from Mountain View.
Nexus S 2.3.4 update now available to early adopters via manual install
The Nexus S is due to receive an over-the-air update to Android 2.3.4 over the coming weeks, but Google earned a +1 from eager fans and devs hoping to get the extra Google Talk functionality sooner. Instead of hopelessly checking for updates until the time is right, the Powers That Be are now offering the upgrade as a manual download to anyone who is already running 2.3.3 on the i9020T (the AWS-equipped model). We urge you to proceed with caution here and double-check that your phone is compatible, since those are the two requirements for the download to install properly. We've happily bumped one of our devices up to 2.3.4 this way without any sweat or tears, so we hope it will be a smooth experience for others as well. If you choose to be adventurous and update your Nexus S, click the source link below to download the necessary ZIP file. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Android 2.3.4 heading to Nexus S over the air, bringing video and voice chat to Gtalk
For an update with such a modest name, this is actually quite a major step forward. Google's about to start delivering Android 2.3.4 to Nexus S devices out in the wild, and in among all the bug fixes and optimizations, users will find the addition of video and voice chat to Google Talk. You'll be able to do it anywhere you can get a web connection going, whether by virtue of WiFi, 3G, 4G, or the force, and other Gingerbread handsets are expected to get the same improvements in time. For now, however, Google's own-branded device is the only one enjoying the very freshest Gingerbread around.
Google adds HTML5 Gmail and Gtalk notifications for the desktop, makes you envy Chrome users
Oh, come on, Google! If you're going to give us desktop notifiers for our favorite email and chat clients, you've got to play nice and let us have them on more than your own browser, right? To be fair to the Chrome maker, it's standardizing the code it's used in its new HTML5 alerts so that other browsers can soon use it too, but as of today, you'll need to use the Google-sanctioned webscape navigator if you want its sweet new pop-ups on your desktop. We gave them a quick try and they're delightfully quick, with Gtalk message alerts updating themselves to the latest one received instead of stacking up and threatening your sanity. Hit the source link to learn how to enable the new notifications.
iPad apps: Twitter and social networking essentials
As you might've notice, either here on the site or likely elsewhere on the internet, we at Engadget have somewhat of an affinity to social networking. With a new screen sitting here saving us some screen real estate, we decided to give a number of Twitter and other pro-social apps a go for perennially staying connected to our online friends -- so long as there's a decent WiFi connection nearby. Here's the highlights from what we've toyed with, and stay tuned for even more roundups on the horizon. Twitterific for iPad (free; $4.99 for Pro account) - Definitely the best Twitter app on the iPad so far (pictured above). It works great in portrait and landscape, contextual links conveniently pop out and photos even get special format treatment. No option to upload photos when tweeting, but we're guessing with a lack of a camera, it didn't seem as necessary an addition -- we like to show off our screen captures and saved browsing images, but hey, that's just us. The only deterrent for power users is that you can only view one column at a time, but with lists, saved searches, and all other thread options easily accessible from the leftmost column, we didn't find it too inconvenient whatsoever. [See in iTunes]
Walk and talk feature added to Agile Messenger for iPhone
There have been some important upgrades to Agile Messenger [iTunes Link] since I last wrote about the multi-client chat app. Notably: a "walk and talk" feature that uses an iPhone camera to give you a view in front of your phone if you want to chat and walk at the same time. That's useful if you're going to type and walk around, but the under-the-hood upgrades are worth a mention as well. The biggest update for me was the ability to search contacts. If you have dozens of contacts, being able to search by name is essential; scrolling a huge set of lists is a chore. Searching works great in Agile Messenger, I'm happy to report. Push notifications work exactly as they did before. There are some cosmetic tweaks and performance tweaks, and I noticed the performance seemed snappier overall. Still, BeeJive recently added (somewhat limited) chat room support, which Agile still lacks. The iPhone IM wars are still on! Agile Messenger is only $1.99 for the next couple of weeks, which is a steal for the normally $9.99 app. If you use IM a lot, it's a great experience.
Nokia Maps gets upgraded, Messaging hits most devices
The news is flowing hot and heavy from Barcelona, and the latest succulent tidbits to land in our laps are these. First up, a fresh version of Nokia Maps is on tap, which includes "a number of new features such as high-resolution aerial images, 3D landmarks for 216 cities and terrain maps, as well as a new route overview during routing and during Drive, the purchasable turn-by-turn car navigation guidance." Furthermore, users will find new options such as access to real time information (camera alerts, safety spots, traffic information, etc.) and Wcities event guides that give real time information for events and movies in over 450 destinations. Next is Nokia Messaging -- which is bringing popular IM services to the majority of Nokia handsets -- and Mail on Ovi, which enables PC users to "create and access Ovi email accounts as well as gain cross access to other Ovi services with just a single sign-on account." Plunge into the links below for more details on each.Read - Nokia Maps updateRead - Mail / Messaging%Gallery-38333%
Google chimes in on GTalk, Bluetooth removals from Android SDK
So we can rest easy for another night -- and the so can the Bluetooth headsets of would-be Dream owners, knowing they've dodged a bullet and won't be unceremoniously tossed into the compactor in a couple months' time. The removal of Bluetooth APIs for developers in the latest build of the Android SDK stoked fears that the nearly ubiquitous standard would somehow get dropped from the first round of devices, but Google has stepped in with the straight dope to clarify why exactly the references disappeared: Android's developers plumb ran out of time to make it available and fully functional to third parties. Engineer Nick Pelly makes it clear on no uncertain terms that the first devices will support headsets and the like out of the box, but to meet the gold deadline, they had to nix it from the publicly accessible APIs. The good news is that they want to add usable APIs back in with a future, post-1.0 release, but that won't be doing the first round of devs (and buyers) much good.The story with another yanked API, meanwhile, is a little different. As the name implies, GTalkService was intended to open up Google Talk's XMPP-based framework to applications in such a way that they could be handled like any other message on the device. Cool, yes, but the company's security gurus realized that the functionality opened up a potential can of security worms, noting for instance that a multiplayer game could repurpose a user's Google Talk account for in-game contact, at which point a bunch of random n00bs could suddenly appear on your buddy list. Not cool. Google's verbiage leads us to believe that GTalkService won't be reintroduced any time soon, either, so we're just going to have to get over that one.[Via Android Community]
MobileChat now available in the App Store
Today Twenty08 released a new instant messaging client for the iPhone/iPod touch. MobileChat (iTunes Link) allows you to connect to multiple IM services, including: AIM/ICQ/.Mac/MobileMe Windows Live/MSN Yahoo GTalk Jabber In many ways, this application for the iPhone looks like a cross between Adium and AIM for iPhone. This application is feature rich, allowing you to take and send images or IM a phone number from any of your 10 supported IM accounts, Most notably, MobileChat allows you to use Apple's forthcoming "Push Notification" system for notifications when the application is closed. This feature is built into this release, but will not be active until Apple "flips the switch." You can download MobileChat today from the App Store for $2.99 (USD).[via MacRumors]
Google Talk for the iPhone
Google has just announced Google Talk for the iPhone (and iPod touch). You won't have to wait for the App Store to use it, since this is a web app designed for the iPhone's browser (remember when Apple wanted us to believe that web apps were just as good as fully native apps? My how times have changed).All you have to do is point your iPhone to www.google.com/talk and soon you'll be chatting away with your Gmail contacts. Since this is a web app, Google Talk for the iPhone only works when it is the active window in Mobile Safari. Close the web broswer, or switch to a different window and you'll show up as unavailable in Google Talk.[via Lifehacker]
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs need more social networking services?
Web 2.0 is all about giving Joe User more choice, more of a voice, and more opportunities for interaction. User-created content is king, as witness the rise of such sites as YouTube. However, many MMOs are still closed systems -- you can't talk to your gTalk friends within World of Warcraft, you can't post to Twitter from Tabula Rasa, and you can't there's no Facebook integration with Everquest 2.But who cares? Chances are you're too busy playing to care about any of those things anyway. However, as these apps mature, and people find more ways to integrate them with everything else, it probably won't be too long before new MMOs will offer connectivity with them right out of the gate. Will this be a boon or a bother? Do you wish your favorite MMO already had this integration?
Meebo releases iPhone web app
Meebo, the reigning champion of web-based chat, has just released their entry into the iPhone app arena. I had a chance to speak with meebo's CEO, Seth Sternberg, earlier today about the release, and they truly do have a surprisingly innovating iPhone app on there hands. Simply point MobileSafari at meebo.com and the site will send you to the iPhone portal (a technique about which our own Scott McNulty had a few thoughts to share) where you can sign into any of Meebo's supported services - including AIM, Yahoo!, MSN and Google Talk - or you can sign in with an account you have already registered with meebo. From there, things get very interesting (note that the screenshot below was snapped in Camino since I'm just not cool enough to get Erica's iPhone screenshot utility up and running). First, if you registered an account with meebo and added your credentials for one or more chat networks, you'll appreciate the fact that everything transfers over to the iPhone app. Custom status messages, your buddy icon, even the history from chat sessions on your desktop computer - they all appear in the iPhone app. Your buddies are listed alphabetically, but any current chats float to the top of the buddy list for easy access, and this is a bit of UI where meebo has some unique innovation going on: the entire iPhone meebo experience centers around a home screen that is your buddy list; it takes up the entire display, and it even rotates and scales gracefully for landscape mode. No tabs here, which can be a mixed bag for the experience. Tapping on a buddy slides over to a new chat window with nothing but an icon to get back to your buddy list, a box to type in and the send button. Chat history (if there is any) populates pretty quickly, even over EDGE, which is an area that Seth said the company focused quite a bit: ensuring the entire app was light on data, simple to use and ultimately fast. Tapping the buddy list icon of course gets you back to the list, and any chats you started automatically float to the top. This is where the lack of tabs can be both a blessing and a curse: while the buddy list is nice and large, making it far easier to to read and navigate than any previous iPhone chat apps, it still takes at least two taps - not including any potential scrolling - to get out of a chat, back to the list and into another chat; more taps if you need to scroll. It's a unique approach to solving this kind of a problem, but ultimately, I think meebo made the right choice.All things considered, meebo's iPhone chat app is hands down my new favorite. I haven't been chatting much on my iPhone yet, but meebo's streamlined experience, fast load times and easy navigation make this a slam dunk that has finally sparked my interest in trying out mobile chat. I was even more surprised about how well they've done on this 1.0 app when Seth shared that this is meebo's first mobile app of any kind. While the company has done web-based chat for years now, they've never ventured onto any mobile device platforms. That said, I think they just about knocked this one out of the park. If you own an iPhone and need to chat, meebo.com is easily one of the best options available.
Nimbuzz lets you call your IM buddies
We've all been there -- you need to get in contact with your friends; they're not answering their phones. You know they're online, but you need to have an actual voice conversation. Well, rejoice, our frustrated friends -- for Nimbuzz plans to bridge the gap between instant messaging and cellphones. Its currently-in-beta (no surprise there), free-to-download app supports "more than 500 [Java-enabled] mobile devices" and allows you to call and initiate voice chats with your buddies on Google Talk and MSN / Windows Live Messenger. In addition to keeping you on top of your online friends, it lets you make international calls to other cellphones at local rates, so long as whomever you are calling also has Nimbuzz installed on their device. Besides that, you also get free text messaging and the ability to have Group Calls with up to five buddies on your contact list regardless of how they are connected, and Nimbuzz says it is currently working on getting your AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! and Skype friends into the mix. Now that you know, we hope you don't mind as we run and make a few overdue calls to our pals across the pond and in the far East.
Nokia 770 OS upgrade now available
As promised, Nokia has just posted the Internet Tablet 2006 operating system for download -- although as of this writing you get redirected to an error page -- giving 770 owners access to those handful of new features announced last month. You'll recall that instead of dropping a QWERTY-equipped version of the tablet as we were hoping/expecting, Nokia disappointed more than a few fans by only unveiling a software upgrade that adds an on-screen keyboard along with the Google Talk client. Even worse, Nokia warns that "installed applications designed for OS 2005 will not be compatible with OS 2006 edition and will not be restored even from backup," so kiss your old apps goodbye if you're planning on upgrading. Still, current 770 owners will probably want to take plunge just so they can run programs developed exclusively for the new OS, and hopefully the software 'board will suffice until Nokia takes our advise and changes up the input style in the next generation of WiMax- and webcam-sporting tablets.[Thanks, Alessandro Z.]
WSJ sez Nokia 770 followup to feature Google Talk
We've known since February that Nokia was working on a QWERTY-sportin' followup to the 770 Internet tablet, and now the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that the included VoIP app will indeed be, as we anticipated, Google Talk. Unfortunately this means that the device will still be unable to call regular phone numbers out of the box, although G Talk members will at least be able to chat among themselves for free. The WSJ is also reporting (only to its subscribers, not to us) that sources close to Nokia have said that the new device will be officially unveiled on Tuesday, and sell for around $390 when it hits stores.
T-Mobile's BlackBerry 8700g reviewed
Despite Cingular's claim of being "the network with the least dropped calls," PC Mag's Sascha Segan finds that T-Mobile's version of the BlackBerry 8700 smartphone, the 8700g, actually outperforms its 8700c cousin in terms of call quality. Other improvements upon the Cingular model are T-Mobile's addition of two key software features: the OZ semi-universal IM client (no Gtalk, and AIM users are restricted to their small mobile buddy group) as well as the first implementation of the Yahoo!/RIM partnership we heard about last month, in the form of a handy Y! Mail icon pre-loaded in the launcher. Besides these small differences, however, Sascha finds the 8700g to perform almost exactly the same as the 8700c -- that is, very well. Email and texting are a pleasure, attachment support is good for all but PDF files, and the crisp screen delivers web pages cleanly (albeit at EDGE speeds), making this seem like the new go-to device for the Mob's business clientele.
Ask TUAW: What's your favorite multi-network IM client?
TUAW reader varun submitted a good question for an Ask TUAW session on the topic of multi-network chat clients. varun has tried out the likes of Fire, Adium and Proteus, but hasn't come up with a compelling reason to use one over the other. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to ask you readers to sound off on which multi-network IM client you prefer, and why. When commenting, be sure to mention how the client fits into your workflow, what you like about it and why. The more clients you can bring to the table above and beyond the ones already mentioned, the better.So what say you, TUAW readers? What is your favorite multi-network IM client, and why?
