Google Hangouts [EOL] Reviews

We use this solution for video calls for group meetings. It used by more than 50 people in our business. 

The most valuable feature has been the ability to present presentations during meetings. 

It would be great if this solution could be added to smart TVs. We would also like the ability to broadcast to a YouTube channel when having a meeting or session using this solution.

I have been using this solution for three years. 

This is a stable solution. 

We have not experienced any issues so have not reached out to the customer support team. 

I have previously used WebEx and Zoom. WebEx is very complicated but does have enhanced features compared to Google Hangout. However, Hangouts is a lightweight solution that can be used across devices including phones. It is easy to download and is readily available. You don't need to sign in separately and this makes it convenient to use. 

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

I am using Google Hangouts for classes online if we do not have physical lectures in the classroom. For example, a lecturer schedules a class at a specific time and then we use a link to join the video call.

The most valuable feature of Google Hangouts is the ability to record the classes that I'm not able to attend. I can use the class recording to view whatever I missed later.

Google Hangouts could improve by allowing someone to record a meeting without the need to have a company email. You cannot record with a Gmail account.

I have been using Google Hangouts for approximately three years.

Google Hangouts is stable as long as you have a reliable internet connection and there is nothing wrong with our system.

The scalability of Google Hangouts has been good in my experience. We only have a few people in the class and we haven't faced any problem with anyone having to be kicked out of the meeting because it was not able to accommodate the numbers.

We have approximately 40 people per class that are using the solution. In our whole university, I am not sure of the total number of users that are using it.

We have a number of online lectures and they have increased this year, there is a plan to increase the usage.

I have not had any problems with the need to contact support.

The initial setup of Google Hangouts is straightforward. The setup was basic, it only involves opening an application, scheduling, or starting a call immediately.

The implementation of the solution can be done in-house and it does not require a third-party implementation.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Google Hangouts a nine out of ten.

I use this solution personally for social networking and video calling. 

There is no delete option for messages which could be an added feature in a future release.

I have used this solution for over 15 years. 

This is a stable solution. 

This solution is included in Google Suite and no separate installation is needed. 

I would recommend this solution to other users. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. 

I work for a project-oriented company, and we focus on product design and development, cloud services development, etc. We have multiple virtual meetings daily, both internally and with our clients, so our primary use case for Google Hangouts is for our meetings.

The value of Google Hangouts is that it enables us to communicate project status very effectively. It also allows us to plan effectively, and get people all over the world into our virtual meetings.

An additional feature I'd like to see in Google Hangouts is more of a personal preference, e.g. it's not a pain point. There may be little differences in the way virtual backgrounds are handled, but it's no big deal.

We've been using Google Hangouts for two years. The company started standardizing the use of the platform at the beginning of the pandemic, e.g. that's when we made the shift to Google Hangouts.

I've seen some stability problems in Google Hangouts, particularly when communicating with developers in Eastern Europe, but that's to be expected given the current situation there.

The initial setup for Google Hangouts was straightforward, and I never experienced any issues with it, but it would still depend on how technical the users are, e.g. the pain points are going to differ.

I evaluated Zoom.

The company I'm working for is a big Google user, so we use Google Hangouts, and we share Google sheets, Google docs, etc. We use different Google solutions for work.

I can't think of any pain points in Google Hangouts that would make me say: "I wish it had this capability, or not." I do so many virtual meetings, and I have to think if it's going to be on Zoom, or if it's going to be on Google Hangouts, e.g. what are we using for this meeting, because we have different clients, so every once in a while, we get called into someone else's meeting, but internally, we use Google Hangouts.

I'm in very much in favor of Dev Ops, e.g. I like to see those updates come, but I have no problems with updates for this platform, because Google is normally doing something, or fixing a problem, or providing an enhancement, etc. The key is I manage when I apply updates, so it's not a problem for me. For some people, it can be a problem, but the updates don't bother me. I managed a Dev Ops environment, so we were putting out updates regularly, so we don't surprise people too often.

I have no information on the pricing of Google Hangouts, because I was not involved in that aspect.

My advice  to others looking into implementing this platform is that we've had good success with it. I have no issues. It's worked for us, and we keep using it. We're not looking at anything else, so that for me, says it all.

I'm giving Google Hangouts a rating of eight out of ten, as I rarely give nines or tens.

Google Hangouts enables communication between peers.

I like that Google Hangouts has better history features now.

Google Hangouts is not as feature-rich as Slack, but it's sufficient.

I'd like to see more features in this tool in the next release. What they need to do is add more features.

I've been using Google Hangouts for a few years.

Google Hangouts is a stable product. I haven't seen any problems with its stability, so for me, it's stable.

It's hard for me to say if Google Hangouts is scalable, but if we're talking about scalability in terms of users, it allows many, many users.

Installing Google Hangouts was very easy. It comes with the package, e.g. this product comes out-of-the-box to a large extent.

I was able to evaluate Slack and Flowdock.

I have some experience with Zoom, but not so much. We mainly use Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and Slack.

We have several thousand users of Google Hangouts in the company, and we'll probably increase usage for it.

I've never contacted technical support for this product, e.g. currently we have no issues with it.

I'm not recommending Google Hangouts to others. I'm recommending Slack instead.

I'm unsure, but we're probably paying yearly for Google Hangouts.

I'm rating Google Hangouts a seven out of ten.

We use Google Hangouts for virtual meetings.

The most valuable features are integration with the calendar and video conference equipment.

The ease of navigation is good, as we can easily share data and screens.

The session recording feature is useful.

There is a significant problem with performance when you have a poor connection. In these cases, it does not do a very good job of stopping the video automatically. The algorithm should be improved to automatically deal with poor connections in a better way.

In the future, we would like to have support for multiple speakers at the same time.

We would like to have a registry of attendance created automatically to show us who is in the session.

I have been using Google Hangouts for more than two years.

When you have somebody that is in a place with a poor connection, the performance is not as good. While this must be a problem with all of these products, I think that the algorithm should stop the video automatically when somebody has a poor connection.

We have been in contact with technical support, although not for the issue of boosting performance by compensating for a poor connection.

We have used Polycom and Skype. We found that Polycom is very good but it is very expensive and not for the masses. We found that Skype was very good as well, except that it doesn't integrate with your collaborative tools.

My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is not to try anything else if you are already using Google Suite as your collaborative tool in the company. Basically, if you are using G-Suite then you should be using Google Hangouts because it works.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

I use the solution mainly to attend meetings through a video call, especially when I have to present something and talk about it to a prospective client. I also use the tool for internal communications within my company so that I can communicate with my designer or project manager.

The features of Google Hangouts I find most beneficial for enhancing virtual communication stem from the tool's ability to provide its users with functionalities that allow them to make use of the product's sharing features. The fact that Google Hangouts is integrated with Google Calendar helps me to set up meetings easily. Most of my contact lists are in my Gmail account, making it very easy for me to pull out the details of the contacts or the potential attendees that I expect and want to invite to a meeting.

It would be better to have a feature for recording the meetings in Google Hangouts. I don't know if there is a feature in the basic version of Google Hangouts that allows for the recording of meetings, but I know that it is possible in Zoom. I think the advanced version or the licensed version of Google Hangouts may allow for the recording of meetings, but I have not explored it. Having a recording feature for the basic version of the tool would be helpful, as it is the only shortcoming of the product.

I have been using Google Hangouts for around ten years.

I have not had any issues with the stability of the product.

I have not had any issues with the scalability part of the product since I operate in a small team. In general, I don't know much about this scalability part of the product.

Only two people in my company use the product. There is an extended group of freelancers attached to my company who use Google Hangouts through their personal Gmail accounts.

I haven't had any issues with the solution's technical support. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

I use Zoom to attend meetings. I use Zoom and Google Hangouts. Cisco Webex is a tool that I used to use fifteen years ago. I started to use Google Hangouts because of Google Workspace,which comes with functionalities that allow its users to send emails and share documents. Zoom is better than Google Hangouts when it comes to the video conference part.

The installation part of the product is easy since one generally needs to use a browser to use the product. I can use the product on my phone by just installing the application, which is a pretty easy process with which I haven't had any issues.

I don't need to buy Google Hangouts separately because it comes free with Google Workspace, and it is also available for my personal Gmail ID.

I integrate Google Hangouts into my workflow for external client meetings or presentations by using my official email ID in Google Workspace, through which I can send meeting links and make use of the calendar invite feature to ensure that the details of the meeting are automatically integrated with Google Hangouts. I just create a meeting link through the calendar invite, and then I use it.

Speaking about whether Google Hangouts integration with other Google services has added any value to my user experience, I would say that value addition doesn't come from Google Hangouts alone. When I want to share some documents or spreadsheets, it is easy to invite those who have a Gmail account with Google Hangouts.

I haven't experienced any significant issues with connectivity or quality during the calls on Google Hangouts.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

Initially, Zoom had a time limit of 40 minutes, but now it's extended to 45 minutes. On the other hand, Google Meet allows meetings to last for an hour.

Moreover, I like the icons Google Meet has. Google Hangouts has sophisticated features and a data license. Google Meet downloads faster.  It does not take a lot of time.

Let me compare it with Zoom. Google Hangouts can't handle a large number of people. It has a limit of around 900 participants. Zoom also has limitations. So, there is room for improvement. 

Another area of improvement is icons.  I believe they could enhance the icon selection feature. It would be great to have more options for icons like Zoom does. It's not necessarily a critical improvement, but it would add a nice touch and provide users with more customization options.

Google Meet should extend the time limit for a meeting from five minutes to at least thirty-five minutes. I may be mistaken, but it seems like an appropriate duration for your average meeting. 

Additionally, when joining a call on Google Meet, it would be helpful to know how many participants are already in the call before joining. This feature is available in Zoom, and I find it quite useful. I prefer Zoom and appreciate the ability to immediately join a call without having to wait for an invitation. It's convenient to know how many participants are already on the call before joining.

I would rate the stability of this solution an eight out of ten. 

Overall, I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Some issues with scalability. 

In my organization, we have around 800 users utilizing Google Meet, and it handles a large number of participants well.

The initial setup is very easy. Google Hangouts is very user-friendly. 

Google Hangouts is not too expensive to maintain. Moreover, it doesn't consume much data and has affordable pricing.

Companies seem to prioritize cost-cutting and choosing a reliable solution. They want something that meets their needs without any surprises. 

My advice to others considering using it would be to give Google Meet a try, especially if they are in need of a solution suitable for larger companies. The features are user-friendly, and navigating through the platform is easy.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.