The world’s leading search engine, Google, has just integrated its email and instant messaging (IM) services into the same web browser, hoping this convenience will attract customers away from its major competitors.
According to reports, with the new integrated chat feature, Gmail users will be provided with a list of contacts (derived from previous email exchanges), as well as notifications of who is online to initiate a chat.
Gmail Chat is compatible with Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, and Firefox 1.0 or later. Chat history will also be saved within the inbox, making it easy for users to revisit past conversations.
The automatic notifications for online/offline status have been a significant advancement in IM services for many years, but Google aims to elevate convenience to new heights. You can chat with your friends directly within the open email window, eliminating the need to switch to a separate IM application as is currently required.
As of today, the number of Gmail accounts displaying this new feature is still relatively limited. However, within a few weeks, this feature will be rolled out to all current Gmail users, according to Google’s product vice president.
To utilize this two-in-one feature, both parties must have Gmail accounts or, at the very least, be using a service compatible with Google Chat, such as EarthLink, Jabber.org, Sipphone Gizmo Project, Chikka in the Philippines, MediaRing in Singapore, or Netease in China.
By further blurring the lines between email and IM, Google hopes to capture additional market share from current email giants like Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL.
Google began offering its free email service in April 2004 and launched Google Talk chat service in August last year, when its three major competitors had already attracted a large number of loyal users. Analysts suggest that while both email and chat services are free, their value to the company is immense. Not only do they strengthen customer loyalty, but they also create an incentive for users to return to the company’s website more frequently.
This is particularly important for Google, a company that primarily relies on advertising revenue ($1.5 billion out of a total income of $1.6 billion in 2005).
Among the big three, Yahoo’s email service has the largest customer base, followed by AOL and Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail. However, Yahoo’s IM service ranks only third. Currently, Google Talk holds a modest sixth position, with just 866,000 users, which is 1/27 of Yahoo’s user base and 1/60 of AOL’s.
With this new feature, Google hopes to significantly improve its standing. It should also be noted that despite its current small market share, Google has helped reshape the email market by introducing a free 2GB storage offer.
Written by Thiên Ý
