Gmail chat allows you to communicate with your contacts list, or any email account that you have corresponded with through your current Gmail email account. Through this useful little app, you are able to view who is online and start chatting with them in real time. You can also update your status to busy, away or asleep, depending on what you decide.
Every Gmail account now has its very own chat service automatically enabled. Once you log in to your account, you can begin to use the chat service immediately. You will be able to see when your friends or contacts are online and choose a specific way to get in touch with them. Whether you prefer to chat with them, or send them a quick email.
Gmail chat is extremely simple, all that is required to begin using it is an internet browser and a working internet connection. You can also save your chat conversations, in case there was some important information contained in one of them. All of your chats can be saved, or archived so that you can search for them at a later date and find them easily.
However, if you are interested in voice calls, video calls or conferences, you will need to download a version of the Google Talk Client. With this client, you will be able to perform all of the functions that most Instant Messaging programs are used for, including video chat. Although, if you prefer just to communicate with your friends using Instant messaging, all you have to do is log in to your Gmail account.
Once logged in to your account you will notice a contact list on the left hand side of the page. This is where you will be able to view which friends, or contacts are currently online and select how you wish to communicate with them. By simply clicking on the contact whom you wish to communicate with, you will be able to select whether to send them an email, or begin an instant messaging conversation.
Of course, instant messaging is a great option for every email service to have, as it keeps you in direct contact with your friends and family. I personally like to use the Gmail Instant Messaging service frequently, because it saves me a lot of time that I would have spent composing emails to different individuals. In conclusion, Gmail chat is a great and useful addition to Google’s email services.