Latest Google Babel leak looks like the real deal – emoticons, smileys, and picture messaging revealed
I think it’s safe to say Google’s got some big things in store for chat on Android/Chrome devices. We seen countless leaks of the rumored “Google Babel” and it was earlier today we heard another rumor of Google possibly shopping WhatsApp — one of my personal favorite messaging services — to help soup up their soon-to-be messaging service.
Now, TechRadar is giving us another look at Babel directly from an alleged Google employee who’s been test driving the service in Gmail. You can see when the cursor is hovered over “feedback,” the text “What do you think about Babel in Gmail?” appears, once again confirming the name. Also, a plethora of emoji/emoticons/smileys will be at users’ disposal, brightening up conversations with icons of cats, flags, and other various items.
You’ll also notice a tiny camera icon which is a dead giveaway that users will finally be able to attach and send pictures via Google Talk — er, GChat — er, Babel. There’s only one problem. It looks like Google could be forcing users to sign up for Google+ before being allowed to share images. Interesting…
Of course, we’re sure that we’ll finally learn everything there is to know about Babel in just a few more weeks during this year’s Google I/O in May. With the Google Play Store 4.0 also leaking online, we’re wondering if Google isn’t planning for another UX revamp for Key Lime Pie to go along with some of their core apps. We’ll keep you posted.
[via TechRadar]