Chances are that when it comes to the cross platform application “Google Hangouts” you fall into one of three categories: 1) I use it everyday or at least regularly 2) I’ve never heard of it OR 3) It’s an app on my phone that I’ve never used. If you fall into the last category than hopefully what I have to say will make you want to explore it and if you’re in the second well, now you’ve heard of it haven’t you?

To be precise, Hangouts is your all around video, messaging, photo/gif sharing app that can be used with Android Devices, iPhones, iPads,  iPods, Computers (yes even Macs), and both Gmail/Google+ within the browser.

Initially Google Hangouts was introduced with the release of Google+ and primarily for video only, sure you could chat while in the hangouts but compared to what it is today it has certainly come a long way. When Google decided to get rid of G+ Messenger and Google Talk to implement Hangouts as an all in one messenger its reception was a bit unbalanced. Some people thought it was a great thing because it seemed unusual to have so many apps to essentially do the same thing, while loyal fans of Google Talk took a little more time to get on board.