Now chat from Gmail to a mobile through SMS

Even if the person you are chatting with is not available near PC you can chat with then using this new feature unveiled by Google Gmail - SMS Chat.

Leo Dirac, Google product manager says - "A few weeks back, we ran into a few snags when we first started rolling this out, but starting today you can turn on text messaging for chat,"

You get your own unique Google chat phone number, so the person receiving the texts will be able to know who you are by saving the digits under your name in their phone book.

How to enable Gmail SMS Chat? - just go to the Labs area in Settings to turn it on.

Then- you can type any US phone number into the search box in the chat window on the left, then select “Send SMS.“ You can also select the contact you want to SMS first and then add their phone number. You can send messages to US numbers from anywhere in the world. If you’re on the receiving end, when you get a text message from Gmail on your phone, messages from each contact will come from a unique number with a 406 area code (406 spells G0O…), reply like you would to any other text message and the reply will be routed through Gmail’s servers straight to your friend’s Gmail chat window.

How to block a Gmail sender while chatting from your mobile? Recipients can also block the service simply by sending the word BLOCK in response to a chat message, so you won't be stung by pesky messages all day either.

Google is rolling out this service in the US at the moment, although it appears to be only a matter of time before it will be available in other geographies

How to do voice and video chat from your Gmail window

Always wanted to do voice and video chat from your Gmail window rather than loggin in to Google Talk every time? Your wait is over! 

Here is a new Killer feature from Google! You can now have both voice and video chats with your contacts for free within your browser's Gmail window. 

To do this click on the 'Video & more' menu at the bottom of the chat window, then select 'Start video chat' or 'Start voice chat'. 

The first time you use this feature, you'll be prompted to download and install a small plugin. Do not hesitate and download the plugin.

This feature is available to all users of Standard, Premier, Education and Partner Editions. However this feature is at present released only in US English.

For more information click below:

Google Apps updates

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Gmail voice and video chat

Google Apps Primer for Small Business

What is Google Apps?

Google Apps are a set of online applications (also know as Software as a Service - SaaS applications) which enable collaboration among your your enterprise users.


What services are included in Google Apps?

Google Apps services include - Google Mail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sites, Google Start Page (additional in Premier Edition - Google Video). The Google services are customized for a business domain name i.e. your email are like - john@yourdomain.com (and not john@gmail.com).


Do I need to install, download any software or purchase any hardware?

Google Apps does not requires any software or hardware installation and maintenance so no more extra cost for your company. You only required to have a domain name and you can start getting benefit from Google services for free (standard edition).


Who is using Google Apps?

Many small business firms, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations have already adopted and benefited greatly from Google Apps services. Google Apps are well positions to help small businesses and non profits in their endeavor.


Why should I use Google Apps?

Here are few reasons

1. The small to medium size business (SMBs) and Startup Business take hard route to save company cost which also includes the software cost. Google Apps Standard edition (which is free) is a great way to save money.
2. Google Apps gives you fast and secure communication software - custom email address, calendar, spreadsheet, document tools, presentations, and more.
3. Google Apps GMail allows user to send and receiving mails and offers large storage capacity. Large number or mails archived, attachments or mail address can safely kept without worry that you are going to run out of space. Gmail’s also has a very strong virus and spam protection.
4. Google Talk is instant messaging facility integrated to Gmail. Text message as well as voice message can be sent worldwide instantly.
5. Google calendar can be used to share events, fix up meetings and organize schedules. You can even publish your company events on the web.
6. Google docs allows your employees to collaborate online over spread sheets, documents and presentations. Now one can create, edit and share their documents and presentations. And you can publish your document so that anyone can access your contents. They allow you to have option to restrict access only to your team or to some individuals.
7. Email can be delivered to your mail clients, hand held devices like blackberry, iphone etc without any additional charges
   

How Google Apps Mail is different from Gmail

Google Apps mail is for your domain - i.e. your email are like - john@yourdomain.com (and not john@gmail.com).


Whether I should use Standard Edition (Free) or Premier Edition of Google Apps?

Google Apps provide their service with some limitation. For most small companies, the free version will be adequate. You can consider to use upgraded version when your organization become bigger and more complex. You can see Google Apps comparison table for free edition versus paid edition on their website.

The key additions in Premier Edition are - higher mailbox size (25GB in premier edition v/s 7GB in Standard Edition), Ad free online email interface, Additional features in Calender, Additional Service - Google Video, and Additional administration features to integrate Google applications in your IT systems.

If you use free edition, you probably need to find good support. While using free edition you can still go for a trial of premier edition (which is 50$ per user) if you need. Google gives an option to Standard Edition users to try Premier Edition for one month free of cost.


What benefits organizations have derived from Google Apps?

There are many benefits but the prime benefits are

• Lower costs
  
• Reduced strain on IT departments due to streamlined operations and low maintenance
  
• Higher business scalability through easily-deployed services
• Availability of up to date version of software
  
• More productive and efficient employees with best of class communication tools

I am setting Up Google Apps for the first time. What I should keep in mind?

Setting Google Apps is relatively simple. There is ample help available on Google's website. If you do not have a domain you can buy the domain through while registering with Google Apps. This will save you from additional setup work. If you already have a domain and you are not IT saavy - you can take help of a host of service providers available in Google Solutions Marketplace.