That Gmail is one of the flagship services of Google’s offer is something clear to an increasing number of people. This must also be evident in Mountain View given the efforts made in recent months to add functionality to the mobile app. The news announced now, however, allows us to understand that probably the intentions are to transform a simple and extremely functional mailbox into a real hub for communication.
Gmail is to Google as Outlook is to Microsoft then? The release that will begin in the coming weeks for business users will introduce the possibility of making and receiving VOIP calls with Google Meet, but always remaining within Gmail. The fact that the feature will be introduced first on Gmail and then on Meet speaks volumes about how Bigg sees its apps.
The planned update also will also add Spaces, the fourth option alongside email, chat, and Meet. This is the service known so far as “Rooms”, a sort of Slack-style chat where you can interact with multiple users. If it seems to you that the situation is getting a little too crowded, perhaps you are not completely wrong, it is no coincidence that Google has declared that you can hide the functions you do not use. But the question is: how long will it be possible?
Moving on to the minor news Calendar will allow you to respond to an invitation by specifying a different place from the one proposed while in November the “Companion” mode will arrive. In this way it will be possible to log into a meeting with your laptop in a silent way as well as with the videoconferencing system of the room, thus avoiding embarrassing echoes.
Speaking of videoconferencing, Bigg took the opportunity to announce the arrival of a couple of devices from the “One series”: devices designed for business use made by third parties, but in line with the design of the other “made by Google” products. The first is Desk 27 a touch display with USB-C and integrated Google Assistant, designed for videoconferencing (price: $ 1,999). The second is called Panel 65 and works like Jamboard: a large stylus-compatible screen, equipped with Chrome OS and compatible with Meet and Webex (no news for Zoom). Both are expected to arrive in 2022.
