End of an era: Google replaces G-chat service with Hangouts after 12 yrs

Google Talk, introduced in 2005, was an in-built messaging platform for Gmail users

Google has decided to call the curtains on one of its most loved products- the Gchat messaging service- after 12 years of operations. The decision comes as the technology major wants its Gchat users to roll over to Hangouts, which is another Google-owned platform offering adult instant-messaging (AIM) service.

Google Talk or Gchat was an in-built messaging platform for Gmail users and was rolled in 2005- a year after the launch of the world's most popular e-mail service, owned by Google. Gchat, services of which will be subsumed under Hangouts from Monday, is one of the first AIMs to have