We realize here at Nexus7Forum.com that the Nexus 7 Tablet is going to have a lot of first time tablet owners as well as first time users of Android and Google services joining the fold with some of us more experienced folk. Thus, we thought we'd start a series of front page articles that highlight some of the really cool features and applications that new inductees to the world of 'Google' might not be familiar with. One such feature is 'Google Hangouts'. So just what are 'Hangouts'? A 'Hangout' is in its most basic form, a video chat over two or more devices but Google's Hangout feature can also be so much more.
In a Google Hangout you can have up to TEN people chatting simultaneously with all of you appearing on screen to everyone else. The 'Hangout' automatically puts the person that is speaking on the large screen with others in small boxes across the bottom and can detect when the conversation changes to change who is on the main screen. Of course you can manually select who is on the main screen as well. There's other cool features too like the ability to simultaneously send text messages to all of those in the Hangout or to select a YouTube video to watch on the main screen with all those in the Hangout watching together.
It's group video chatting made easy and the potential applications really are endless from having your entire family all having a Google Hangout at once, 'Hanging Out' with a group of friends or having a business meeting or conference remotely with everyone taking part in a Google Hangout. Now all of this is free and all you need is a compatible device (like your Nexus 7) and a Google account. Oh, but that's not all Google Hangouts can do...
With 'Hangouts On Air' you can live stream broadcast yourself to the world through your Google Profile, your 'YouTube' Channel or your personal website. Again, Google Hangouts makes what used to be a convoluted and/or costly process as simple as a few clicks. Your 'Hangout' is automatically saved to your 'YouTube' channel and you can 'share' this video with others. Imagine hosting your own video blog or show that people around the world can watch...all just using your Nexus 7 or laptop and your Google account...and all at no cost. Pretty amazing stuff.
Now there's much more to Google Hangouts. As part of Google you can search and see other popular 'Hangouts' that have been made available to the public to watch. There's also a bunch of fun tools that can be used to liven up a conversation with friends. We're even going to be experimenting a bit here at the Nexus7Forum.com and host a few Hangouts of our own for forum members and see how we can integrate this into the community. Wanna learn more? Head on over to the link below.
