Google Talk Beta Scores High Marks
The reviews are in and the first beta release of Google Talk is receiving high marks from users. Although some are bothered by the client's current lack of features, many find the 900KB Google Talk refreshingly simple. Below is a selection of reviews from BetaNews readers.
Awesome program! Does have a ways to go to be a complete IM system but this is a great first release. The voice chat works amazingly well and it's so easy to use! - reets
The application is in every essence, a messenger client. And by messenger I mean you can either type or talk to people in real time. There are, no extras. I don't like referring to 'bloat', since it can mean many things. That's an advantage as well as a disadvantage for this program. While simplicity is an achievement in excellence (and will probably get this client to the height of popularity) there are key 'features' not visible in the beta. - Neoprimal
I have to admit that this is a very slim featured beast we're dealing with. But look at the system resources it takes up. 2 to 4 megs of ram, and the highest I've seen it was at 6 during a voice conversation with my buddy.
It does exactly what I need it to. No advertisements, no being forced to look at someone's retarded avatar. No profiles for all your teenage bickering. The only main gripe if that we need more complex 'away' system. And I'd like to customize my font. Since Google will probably release those features sooner or later, I might as well not complain. For being a beta, this is a 4.
Bottom Line: Great to use alongside your favorite messenger - for now. Once we see some rich features in the future, this will be a messenger to really talk about. The voice quality is really crisp and fast, even for my 56k. Truly excellent. - eclipsingdivinity
Decent start but lacks many simple features that are almost required today, such as file sharing and buddy list groups. It will be interesting to follow, but the current UI is kind of limiting so, to add more features, they may have to change it. - bangbang023
It is pretty elegant, but it just does not have enough of features we are used to - buddy info, fonts, chat, file transfer, etc. Also, after several attempts I could not get the audio working on the calls. Gmail integration is somewhat useful, or at least it will be if this program catches on. All in all, a reasonable beta. - compm375
Simple, intuitive functionality. It's difficult to make software this beautiful and simple. It's much easier to make a complicated, hideous kludge with wizards out the wazoo like Microsoft does. Googlers are the zen masters of software design. - GeorgeSantayana
For a first release it's fab. Does everything it should nicely. I look forward to Google implementing other features such as file sending, and multi-person conversations/conferences in a similar lightweight way! - DiGiTaLFX
Very nice software... this has a lot of potential. Simplicity and functionality both at the same time. I'm sure there's more to come. - theheff