By We have been hearing much more about the rumored unified messaging service going by the name of Google “Babble” lately. The whole internet thought that name just didn’t quite feel right. Someone must have heard it wrong and confused the childish name with a much more serious code name – Babel.
According to the most recent rumors, this was the case. Droid Life’s sources claim the name is, indeed, internally known as Google Babel. This makes much more sense if we relate Google’s messaging service to the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
To make the story short, the story of the Tower of Babel is the Bible’s way to explain the birth of different languages. According to the Bible, there was only one language before this event. The wrath of God fell upon humanity and we all suddenly spoke different languages, hence dividing us.
This is pretty much Google’s current state in terms of messaging. Google has services like Talk, Google+ Messenger, Gmail and Google Voice, which are all suffering from the Babel phenomena. They are all created by the same maker, but can’t communicate between each other. Some have features others don’t, and it is pretty much a mess.
According to the sources, Google is testing this service in multiple platforms. These include Android, iOS, Chrome, Google+ and Gmail. This would mean that Google is not only unifying messaging services, but a plethora of platforms and devices.
Rumored Google Babel features
- Access the same conversation list from anywhere
- A new, conversation-based UI
- Advanced group conversations
- Ability to send pictures
- Improved notifications across devices
Overall, it is looking like this will finally be the answer to our… prayers. Picture messaging means the service will finally be able to get features Google Talk never had. Google Voice might also become more conversational, and group chat/texting might finally be possible.
We can’t complain about any of these features, and hope more details emerge soon. Of course, the usual disclaimer applies here. This is rumored information and details may or may not be true. Take it with a grain of salt and don’t hold your breath on it.
Now that we got that out of the way, what features from “Babel” are you most excited about, and what do you wish it could get?
[Source: Droid Life Via: ChromeSpot]
If the app is smooth, I will definitely use it
If it can send any kind of file type…WIN.
Babel? Laaaaaame :P
For an internal name it’s pretty neat (yes I said NEAT!)
I wonder what it will be called externally.
Google Talk?
Google Chat?
Google Huddle?
Google Messenger?
Google yadda yadda yadda
they will kill it along side with google reader
You whiners really need to get the eff over that. Seriously it’s only an app.
actually it was a joke. i never used the app in my life. i didnt even know people still care for RSS reader,,,i got so many dislikes lol
I used it once. Hated it. Couldn’t stand the UI. Switched to Pulse and never looked back!
Pulse is nice, but I prefer Google currents myself
I hear they’re killing off Android and Google Search soon too. /s
Indeed, it was one minor app, it’s not the end of the world.
I cried babel babel look at me now
Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
And you should know that
So call me Babel?
*sigh* They had to go with a biblical reference. That’s OK, I can deal with this, as long as that’s not the actual name of the app.
Consider it a Hitchhiker’s Guide reference, if it makes you feel better.
42?
That’s great. No one cares if you don’t download it.
Oh thanks cuz your approval was really important to me.
You realize what just happened here, right? Google cares even less about your one opinion than how much you care about aimetti’s…
And since I wasn’t talking to Google your comment makes sense how?
And your half approval was really important to Google.
It may just be a part of the next big android version aka Key Lime Pie so yeah if it is then there is no way around seeing it on our devices once updated and soon to be coming out. They may make it a downloadable app for those devices that are not running KLP tho just so that everyone can be on the same page as it were.
Seeing as it is supposedly cross platform (iOS version of the app) it will likely be separate from the OS and in a separate app. Seeing as the trend at Google is to have as much apps and less OS included system apps (see Calendar). However they can still pull a Now on us (making it an app, but requiring a recent Android OS version (4.2.2. or something) like they did with Google Now (requiring jellybean 4.2 even when it could just be had as an app somewhat)
I really hope they don’t limit it to Jelly Bean users. That will narrow down their Android market to a measly 20% or so. If they do, no. of iOS users with Babel will exceed no. of Android users. How can they do this to their own loyal customers.
chat apps live or die by their target audiences, limiting it to jellybean could make it dead on arrival, so likely that more people will have access to it
Well if his freinds/families download it and want to use it to communicate with him they will likely care if he doesn’t download it.
So tolerant
Really one single sentence is a mindless rant, yet you respond with multiple paragraphs of childish tantruming? Resorting to liberal versus conservative and name calling? Someone forgot their medication it seems.
Just want to be able to send pictures, embed YouTube videos, and possibly file transfer. I’ll pay for it if I have to..
Also, I’m crossing my fingers the comment section doesn’t turn into a religious debate.
Then I shan’t debate it, just to make you happy. Do we need to sacrifice any animals to use it?
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I’m not sure about this, for fear if we create this Google Babel to be able to better communicate, we may anger the Almighty Mobile God and he shall smite us and divide us into different new mobiles languages. The conflict will be worse than iOS vs Android vs WP when we are divided even further! :-(
Keep joking about these things. God hasn’t changed.
Hadn’t thought of that. Those are good features. I was blinded by my fierce anger that we Android users had to share this with iOS that I didn’t consider the features I’d like. Hopefully we’d get a better way to exchange info than the email exchange gTalk uses now. Hopefully a pin or better yet barcode scanning system. I hate asking for email addresses in party settings. This is the one thing I miss from BBM.
Address exchange? That’s what God made Bluetooth for.
Or better yet what Android Beam should be for…
*sigh* now they’re copying iMessage…
Like how apple copied MMS and windows live messenger (MSN)
tell me again how iMessages are platform independent.
Ignore him/her/it. They’re just an anti-Android troll. I see them on TechnoBuffalo all the time posting dumb crap like in order to attempt to incite a flamewar. Don’t even acknowledge his/her/its existence.
You missed a feature, message delivery confirmation.
i am not believing any kind of news until april fool is over.
This rumor has been floating around for at least a few days–I think maybe about a week. It’s not an April Fool’s joke, although, it could just be bad information anyway.
I originally thought that it might be Babel instead of Babble for this very reason. If only I would have said something back then I’d look like a genius.
The tower of Babel is a pretty cool story all in all, and I’ve only learned about it because of the song by Bad Religion. People get together to build a tower to be able to go see God. God gets pissed, destroys the tower, then scatters everyone all over the earth and makes them speak different languages. Silly earthlings…anyway, there was a really cool website in the past that did stories of the Bible with legos…it was hilarious. The Babel story was done very well…
Actually, people built the Tower of Babel to make a name for themselves (give glory to themselves rather than to God) and to protect themselves from the possibility from another flood (they didn’t trust God’s promise to never send another one).
God also commanded people to multiply, spread out, and fill the earth. Instead they all grouped up in one area. It’s a story of disobedience.
I also had a suspicion that it might be called ‘Babel.’ Good to know I wasn’t the only one.
I hope this doesn’t break grooveip.
This means you guys are now free to change the name of Phandroid to Google Babble… :-D
Seriously though, Googlites must have been laughing their asses off at this one…
Now the name makes absolute sense. Ambitious, but let’s not forget the the tower was THE ULTIMATE EPIC FAIL of all times.
Yeah if it was real. But a much more real and epic failure was the last 2 Matrix movies.
Actually, no it doesn’t. It’s about merging, while the whole Tower of Babel story was about dividing.
^^^^^^^^^SPAM ALERT^^^^^^^^^
now that makes more sense. For those that don’t know the Bible story, it might not make much sense but I like the name. creative
Sounds to me like this year’s April Fools joke.
I REALLY hope not…..
I just hope we can drop offline messages, group messages without limit of people in it, and be able to share files, and we should be able to login just like Google Talk, not like WhatsApp or Line Messenger where we have to tie it up to a device. Also if it can really work with Multiple platform, i would then ditch WhatsApp, Line Messenger, Viber, We Chat, ChatOn, etc.
Icon should be multicolored fish.
Ah, ha! I said as much when they first announced it. Obviously someone in the chain didn’t know how to pronounce Babel (long a). Probably the same kind of person who thinks babel fish is pronounced babble fish.
From what I’ve been able to find, Bayble is more common in the UK, but here in the US, I’ve always heard it pronounced Babble, as in Babylon.
I pronounce it the way it is in Hebrew: bah vehl. Not bay or baa
Conversation style grouping in Google Voice has been the missing feature that has kept me from using it for messaging all this time. I look forward to this unification.
Yet they force the conversation style in Gmail.
Eagerly waiting for this. I hope it turns out to be an app that blows all others away
Can’t wait to see what KLP has to offer
Improved name, but not enough. I like the story behind the name, though.
Just imagine how awkward mentioning the service would be…
“Hey there! Wanna Babble, Babel?”
This is nothing. I have the hardest time getting people to try the PTT app I use. Apparently nobody wants to Tikl me.
Somebody probably just spelled it wrong along the way. Now everybody’s like oh that makes sense. Context clues should have told you its at least a play on the name. Truth is everybody want to now pretend to be familiar with the story.
I love Google talk and that you can reply to Google+ posts directly in your gmail. This new chat service will likely be the best integrated service out there, but unfortunately people will still just use Facebook messenger seeing as everyone else is using it already even if it’s a poor service.
Hope, I will be able to send messages to Skype contacts, so I wouldn’t have to see that ugly interface again!
has anyone saw the Google Nose video? it’s awesome. I cant wait to smell some girls!
Great Service by google, i think this
web service will be rock if applyied.
If it is called Babel it should have realtime language translation with voice and text. It would be cool to be able to chat with people on google plus that speak in different languages. The infrastructure is all there it just needs to be tied together. Babel.
Oh and bone conduction with google glass, a translation feature would have me running to the store buying a pair.
Babble or Babel, both sound stupid. Hey, don’t forget to babble/babel me…..FFS
Will it be available for desktops (PC, MAC, Linux)?