Huge fan of Google Voice? You might want to think twice before upgrading your Google Talk to the newly released unified web messaging tool, Hangouts. The flagship feature was seemingly missing when users upgraded their Google Talk to Hangouts within Gmail. Google Voice is a telecommunication service launched by the company in 2009 that allows computer-to-computer and computer-to-phone, incoming and outgoing calls including video, with certain geographical constraints.
However, support seems to be fast arriving for those left stranded. Nikhyl Singhal, the company's director of product management for real-time communications, in a Google Plus post, elaborated on how users can revert to the original version, should the absence of the feature startle them, and assured that this does not spell the demise of the much sough-after feature. Users can simply click on the name or profile picture in the Hangouts section and opt to "Revert to old chat". The upgrade, however, does not come in the way of users receiving incoming calls through the Google Voice number. "We're working hard on supporting both, and outbound/inbound calls will soon be available" said Singhal. "In the meantime, you can continue using Google Talk in Gmail."
It remains unclear as to how much longer this loophole will be available. Speculations are rife that users might be forced to shift to the updated version in the near future. Amidst the swirling rumors, Singhal gave people a sneak peak into what Google has in mind for Hangouts users in the coming days. "Hangouts is designed to be the future of Google Voice, and making/receiving phone calls is just the beginning. Future versions of Hangouts will integrate Google Voice more seamlessly." he said.
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