Brothers in arms - Duo and Allo

Last two weeks had been amazing for #Google fans world-wide. First, it was release on their newest Android, N; Second, it was the release of their video-chat app called Duo and Third, the hype and craze around their "Soon to be released" text chat app called Allo.

Last week, I wrote extensively on N, so let me shift focus on Duo and Allo. I had waited for two weeks to gain more insights from their Duo/Allo Google+ communities and to test Duo before sharing my views and hence, the delay.

So, let me start with Duo. The scene stealer feature is setting it up for the first time. Just give your cell number and you are done and ready for video chat. Surely, it is just the first version and many vital features are missing but patience has its virtues. Just wait and see how #Google brings them out over time. It has a invite feature to invite your friends and once they get connected, rest is a piece of cake. I tested it out on various bandwidth ranges and it worked like a charm. Much better than some of its rivals, which I had been using for years.

One of the questions that many have been asking is difference between Hangouts and All/Duo and whether Hangouts will die a natural death because of the arrival of these twin brothers. The answer is NO. After reading many www pages, it is evident that Google is going to follow a strategy to keep business and personal interests separate. So soon, Hangouts will be the Go To app for business while Duo and Allo will cater the personal side of Gen X and Y's social needs.

The Allo, on the other hand, is yet to come out. Recent buzz tells us that it should be round the corner in next few weeks (early Oct is the best guess for its release) and those who want the "First Day First Show" high, should go to the Play Store, search for Allo and register themselves. In plain terms, Allo is created with WhatsApp in mind. The differentiators are going to be better emoticons, tighter voice integration, out of the box integration with the Google eco-system including G+, Gmail and Chrome. With the recent privacy related pop-up on WhatsApp that you all may have encountered, looks like the timing has been all-time great for Google to release its brand new app to the masses.

What still needs to be seen is its adoption rate as both the apps, no matter how intelligent their genes are, will eventually die, in case, the community does not bring them into their daily use. Surely, Google has been late, sorry, quite late, in joining the band-wagon and may face tough times ahead, but like me, once you taste the real nectar, I am sure you will stick to it for a very long time.

To end, here is a new hashtag that I have been promoting these days and all those Google fans out there will love it. It is #GoogleKnowsEverything.

Do you know the famous best-seller from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 810 uses a 20nm processor and the latest 820, uses a 14nm...Next post will tell you more about what is coming in 2017. 

Stay tuned. And next time when you meet someone, don't say Hello, Say Allo!!