Google Talk for the iPhone
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 | 4:57 PM
We've just released in the US a new version of Google Talk designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch browsers. In addition to sending your friends Gmail messages from your iPhone,
you can now chat with them while you're on the move, too! In your iPhone browser, just go to www.google.com/talk, sign in and start chatting. That's it. Google Talk runs entirely in the browser so there's no need to download or install anything.
There are some differences from using Google Talk on your computer. For instance, in order to receive instant messages with Google Talk on your iPhone, the application needs to be open in your Safari browser. When you navigate away to another browser window or application, your status will be changed to "unavailable" and your Google Talk session will be restarted when you return.
Other than that, we've tried to keep the design as faithful to the desktop experience as possible, so it should be familiar to you. You can select from a quicklist of the people you contact most, search your contacts, and manage multiple conversations. You'll never have to miss out on the latest gossip or updates from friends just because you're away from a computer.
Labels: google talk, iphone, Mobile Blog
64 comments:
iSpazio said...
it's awesome!
July 2, 2008 at 5:58 PM
JJ said...
How can I get it to work for Google Apps?
July 2, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Wyatt Neal said...
Pretty slick ... but where's the 'Talk' functionality of Google Talk? I know it can be replaced by apps like fring, but this is your own internal stuff. Why not put the effort into making a full-fledged Google App?
July 2, 2008 at 6:40 PM
James Langford said...
It works for hosted domains:
http://hostedtalkgadget.google.com/a/yourdomain/talkgadget/m
July 2, 2008 at 7:54 PM
Anonymous said...
It doesn't work with user agent switcher on firefox
Google, make this have an independent url, and don't lock the app out by user agent. Let us people with just as capable mobile browsers access it too.
Example: Google Reader
July 2, 2008 at 8:41 PM
Dylan McCall said...
I agree with Fernando completely! There seems to be a horrible assumption going around at Google that the only mobile browser capable of rendering modern web pages is Safari on the iPhone. Believe it or not, there is a big world outside of Apple. For example, Nokia's Internet Tablets, Windows Mobile...
I understand there's this "Android" thing rolling out in a while that will provide a pretty capable browser, too.
It's a shame that the only small-screen optimized sites those devices get are also optimized for pay-per-byte connections, and thus are horrible to use.
The way that a great deal of effort is wasted by having this stuff locked away to a minority of the small web device market should be rather evident, so I will not bother explaining that.
Nice looking web site, by the way. Does anyone else find these iPhone versions nice to use even on full desktop web browsers? The design is simple, yet delightfully usable -- and FAST!
July 2, 2008 at 9:10 PM
JJ said...
Guys, what about a Gtalk version for MacOSX - will full featured voice chat? Come on, Mac users are on the rise.
July 2, 2008 at 10:47 PM
vinitneo said...
There are other mobiles too..not just iPhone. We too want such stuff.
July 3, 2008 at 12:08 AM
Tsugawa.TV said...
great!
thanx, anyway
July 3, 2008 at 3:23 AM
d3bruts1d said...
It's nice to see Google making their apps available for the iPhone, but I think I'll stay with Meebo or Trillian on the iPhone.
July 3, 2008 at 4:22 AM
tjb said...
Do you get AIM integration?
July 3, 2008 at 5:25 AM
RoRo said...
Great application!
please take in also to the apple Appstore for push messages ousite safari.
verry nice so far! Thanks
Ro (Amsterdam)
July 3, 2008 at 6:26 AM
sean said...
too little too late i'm afraid. come now. we expect more!!
sean808080
July 3, 2008 at 7:17 AM
Gregory Pleau said...
I like the idea that Google Talk is moving to mobile devices, but those of us that live in areas not serviced by iPhones have had to make due with Windows Mobile. Any chance a text-only Google Talk could appear on that platform?
July 3, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Joris Kluivers said...
Why a chat app running in the browser? Using the iPhone API you can add voice over wifi, server notifications when the app is not running and a better interface. Ofcourse a browser chat is nice for now, but lets hope the native version will replace this one soon after the app store is launched.
July 3, 2008 at 8:03 AM
Citizento said...
It looks very nice, but we already have Meebo for the Iphone which is online since the first Iphone launch and works well.
July 3, 2008 at 8:03 AM
Bobby G said...
I can't stay signed in on my iPhone. The page just refreshes and constantly asks me to sign in again. This keeps happening with Google Reader, Gmail, Talk, etc through the iPhone Safari Browser.
I also tried the Google Help area related to this topic (not specifically for iPhone) and it didn't help.
Does anyone know what is wrong?
July 3, 2008 at 9:35 AM
PitchforkJesus said...
That sounds all fine and dandy, but can we get some love and support for the Instinct :)
July 3, 2008 at 11:24 AM
a node said...
Does At&t count this as a text messaging?
July 3, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Javier said...
@a_node
Nope. This is web browsing, essentially, so it'll fall in the Data side of things.
July 3, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Ben said...
Thanks!!! Started using it today!
July 3, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Unknown said...
Could we get an iPhone home screen icon linked up to it?
July 3, 2008 at 3:33 PM
Unknown said...
this is nothing new
I've been using www.beejive.com on my iphone for months now. it's free, supports gtalk, and yahoo, AIM, MSN and others.
July 3, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Anonymous said...
Will said...Could we get an iPhone home screen icon linked up to it? ----its there, all you have to do is press the + and add it to your home screen (other options is to bookmark it, etc.) - then the icon will appear.
July 3, 2008 at 9:45 PM
The Lounge Magazine said...
gtalk has worked on apple for over a year on ichat by using the jabber feature and you can speak to one another including video.
July 3, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Unknown said...
Cant stay logged into GMail comment: I dont own an iPhone or use Safari, but this sounds like a cookie issue. Make sure you are accepting cookies for those sites:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1675
Here is a larger article:
http://www.ben.geek.nz/iphone-google-reader-gmail-facebook-cookie-fix/
July 4, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Anonymous said...
those with Windows Mobile, get beejive IM. It handles Google Talk very well. You can also do Google Talk in Skyfire for those of you that have it. It's kind of rough going in Skyfire, but it works if you have the patience, but I use BeeJive beta, for now.
July 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Jay said...
awesome - thanks for doing this!
ONE important question - how do we only show ONLINE contacts like in the desktop version?
July 4, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Unknown said...
@fernando, there is already a mobile web service that works on all phones, it's called heysan, check it out on http://m.heysan.com/gtalk
It works great for me
Simon
July 4, 2008 at 4:17 PM
Ravi Solanki said...
I personally prefer using meebo from my iPhone as it lets me aggregate all my IM accounts.
July 4, 2008 at 11:33 PM
Justin Dean said...
I certainly hope that on July 11th when the AppStore and iphone 2.0 is released that Google will be ready to go with a native iphone App for Google Talk (and all other Google applications such as Calendar and Gmail). Having my phone vibrate when I receive an IM is important. The webapp you released here is only useful for when I want to send someone an IM - not for when they want to get a hold of me.
July 6, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Unknown said...
Chat is nice. But we are waiting for voice chat. When would it be coming??
July 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM
fhagard said...
I have to agree with Justin Dean! I'm looking for all these wonderful safari based applications to go native for the iphone. It's definitely central to what we are expecting going forward of iphone 2.0. Nonetheless great that the initial groundwork is being done.
Thanks Google.
July 7, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Julia said...
We need Google apps for the Samsung Instinct!
July 7, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Mazhar Mohad said...
what we are eagerly expecting is a google talk with voice on mac osx and iphone. also to develop a usb phone thats compatible with google talk like the ones philips and uniden has for msn messenger.
July 7, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Andrew said...
I think this stinks... I had a blackberry and could get googletalk chats going no matter where i was. What's the point of having this if the only way to use it is on that browser page. I can't be checking mail and get a chat in? Lame.
July 14, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Ursu said...
How about an App Store version? How about a Google.app that includes Talk/Reader/Mail etc? Filter out what services you want to use in the settings. If you only want Talk and Reader, you only have 2 tabs.
I don't know, but I really don't dig on web apps that much. I'd rather have a native app.
July 14, 2008 at 7:15 PM
shizzle said...
I too want a native app! I just switched from the blackberry and I guess I got hooked to the always-on nature of the google talk. ALL of my friends are on it and I use no other chat program - don't make go looking around, I was so happy!
July 15, 2008 at 3:31 PM
karmadude said...
what taking so long to build a gtalk app for iPhone, don't you have more resources than all these other companies that have apps out already?
July 16, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Kerem said...
It's pretty useless as it is now. It should be able to keep you online and receive messages even when switching to another application, screen lock or browsing away. If it can provide those, then it would be a killer app, but this is nowhere close. I don't get it why google would release this now why everyone else is working on building native apps for the iPhone using the SDK.
July 16, 2008 at 11:49 PM
Unknown said...
We definitely need apps for the samsung instinct. I'm bummed I can't use a lot of the google products on my new phone :(.
July 18, 2008 at 9:23 AM
PitchforkJesus said...
OK, that's great, so now that you have that working on the iPhone, can you guys get to work on some Instinct apps? We would like to use Google Talk as well!
July 23, 2008 at 5:15 AM
Ninad said...
This application is of not much use
1) it logs off when you go to another window (maybe thats an iphone issue)
2) it doesnt support voip calling
big deal you guys got the google talk on the iphone....could newayz access it other ways.
July 25, 2008 at 8:50 AM
Unknown said...
sounds great! Does it mean there will be Gtalk for Mac OS soon?
July 31, 2008 at 12:02 AM
rooney said...
Hey Google,
This sucks ! I want to use Google Talk like Blackberry Messenger, another words it needs to always be on. It's stupid that it logs off everytime the phones goes back to the home page. Then i'm offline and i need to re-load the page all over again which is slow no matter how fast 3G is supposed to be. Make it happen Google !!
August 7, 2008 at 1:38 PM
David said...
Totally sucks... GTalk for BlackBerry was killer. I had almost entirely abandoned AIM. Having this run as a web app prevents you from using it like a regular chat client. i want my gtalk on and available. not when i'm sitting there staring at the webpage. "Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one...!?!??!" way-off.
August 8, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Philly said...
PLEASE - we need Google Talk & Google Apps (Domain version) for the Samsung Instinct!!!!
August 9, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Oliver P. Stamm said...
Unfortunately working only in the browser is no solution. I have a BlackBerry for work and installed the Google Talk native application. That really works great but on my iphone it's useless. when I exit the browser the chat is gone. People cannot get a hold of you if you don't stay in the browser window. Very lame app. Need native app.
August 28, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Dave Wellman said...
google you have a great service but when it comes to gtalk on the iPhone you have failed us. Expecting is to keep a browser open waiting for incomming messages is just stuipd.
I have recently moved from a blackberry to the iPhone, almost. I still carry the blackberry so I can respond to gtalk incomming messages and stay in touch with my team.
We get it, you can make it work on a browser (small applause)
Now will you just give us a iphone app based client that works for us.
August 28, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Unknown said...
Voice. Voice. Voice.
Oh, and how about Talk gadget for Mac OS. And again Voice!
Come on, that's what everyone wants. You've obviously made it work on the PC, so how about a little love for Mac and iPhone.
October 9, 2008 at 4:16 PM
Kugutsumen said...
does it support SSL?
October 25, 2008 at 7:40 AM
Unknown said...
This is FAR from awesome...in fact, this is close to idiocy.
There are plenty of web-based chatting available already. What good is a chatting application that signs you out as soon as you close the browser?
October 30, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Unknown said...
Agree with everything said. There are tons of web based chatting availible aready. What's the point of having gtalk if it only works in safari? Google needs to get with the program and release a native apps. In this, my blackberry was far better for chatting. I'm missing it already...
December 18, 2008 at 8:26 AM
io said...
Google is awesome! But this "app" piece of... talk )
Can't you just make independent program like "maps"?
with glossy and shiny icon ))
And put it in appStore...
January 7, 2009 at 8:08 AM
Daaaaave said...
Aaargh.. one of the reasons I'm switching to my Blackberry to an iPhone is for proper Gmail support through IMAP. Now, apparently there really is no proper way to Gtalk. No wonder my iPhone friends are never online and always texted me. This is kinda crazy. It was so well done on the Blackberry, but I suppose that app was actually developed by RIM.
January 11, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Unknown said...
Same thing Here.... Went from a Blackberry to an iPhone and now all the google applications I had are through the browser?? Soo Gay.. Develope applications already. I'm beginning to think it was a mistake to move to the iPhone for Business purposes.
January 27, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Patrick M. said...
ok idea what if google mixed this with the sms txt lab that allows chat to a txting phone with this so that i could txt to people with phones from my itouch or iphone for free. it might be really hard i dont know i'm a n00b.
(srry if somone all ready said this i didnt want to read the entire thing...)
February 7, 2009 at 11:06 PM
gP said...
is gtalk down? It's been 1 week without the service, am I the only one?
March 23, 2009 at 1:30 PM
soysaucesam said...
gP-
I am getting a 404 Error as well.
March 24, 2009 at 7:52 AM
Anonymous said...
I get the same 404 error.
March 25, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Unknown said...
arrgh..recently switched from pearl to iphone..will go back to pearl..i am too much into push and PROPER gtalk..the damn thing doesn't even work..404 error..what the heck
this is the first time, i am seriously disappointed with google's products. not only talk, pretty much every google app on iphone sucks..not sure if it has to do with google or apple
March 26, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Michael said...
I am getting the same 404 error too! for about 2 weeks now - any ideas?
March 28, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Unknown said...
I have been playing with this a little bit, but the application on the BlackBerry is way better because it always runs. I don't like the requirement to keep the browser active all the time, and, in my experience, when my iPhone locks (security), when I go back in after entering my security PIN, the connection is lost. I didn't receive a reply from my wife today as a result of this. On the BB it's no problem--same with the desktop integration through iTalk.
April 9, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Daaaaave said...
Mark,
It's not Google's fault that there's not a proper app. It's Apple's. They haven't and will not allow background apps. Google may be waiting for Apple to get notification service in 3.0 off of the ground before releasing another actual app. Using a push notification service is getting halfway there (good enough) and should work kinda like BeeJive, which is the only way to go right now.
The BB application spoils you though, but that's because RIM allows the app to run all of the time and also actually integrate into the phone. Much more freedom than Apple allows.
April 9, 2009 at 3:14 PM
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