Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Google Duo adds supports for audio-only calls because why not


Google has a video chat mobile app, this is news to me. It was launched in May 2016 and has become the new form of Facetime for Android users- to contact their friends and family that also have androids. The calls also have a 'knock-knock' feature that enables users to see live who is calling and what they look like before answering the call, making it more like an 'invite' than an interruption. (Wiki 2017).

The app also has a new feature of audio calls- the feature is currently only available in Brazil because it targets those users who do not have easy access to the internet.
This app seems like a good idea for android users but how is this any different from WhatsApp? The video calling to audio calling and even live chats. I think all these media platforms are all trying to compete so much that they end up doing the same thing.

Thomas Frank's article talks on how the more innovation occurs, the more dangerous it is for our economy. In this case it may be true, we have all these likened products that the whole idea of 'innovation' begins to depreciate and consumers may start to lose their interests in them.
I personally believe this is something android users may be proud of (in comparison to the iPhone) but is it an application that stands out? Will people stop using WhatsApp now this is in?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/22/google-duo-adds-supports-for-audio-only-calls-because-why-not/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Duo

3 comments:

  1. Interesting idea, however it seems like innovation these days revolves around coming up with the same concept for different types of technology. How many types of music apps does one person need? or how many type of video calling do we actually need? While I think this is a good idea that keeps everyone around the world connected, I believe that innovation can be catered to something that will make a change in the world. For example, the medical field could use more innovations.

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  2. This is an interesting idea, however, having an Android myself I did not even know this app existed until I read this blog post. There is already a similar feature on the phone that allows facetime conversations between androids, and this app seems like somewhat of an unnecessary way to add seeming-less features to facetime. However, I have not personally tried the app so I can't say for sure that I wouldn't use it.

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  3. I think you raise an interesting point in saying that the whole idea of innovation will depreciate as a result of these new technologies being released that are duplicates of what already exists. Similar to what Sulaika mentioned, we are constantly seeing new innovations pop up that release the exact same concept for different platforms. Like she said, there are many music platforms that achieve the same goal, such as Spotify and Apple Music. Similarly, we can see the same features being implemented into our social media accounts, with Snapchat stories and now Instagram stories and direct messaging. I think it seems as though a lot of technology today is just trying to keep up with their competition, and their way of innovation is just creating the same technology that already exists. Innovation will definitely continue to depreciate if this is the future path of technological innovation!

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