Google Opens Up Hangouts To All

Google Updates Its Logo
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - SEPTEMBER 02: The new Google logo is displayed on a sign outside of the Google headquarters on September 2, 2015 in Mountain View, California. Google has made the most dramatic change to their logo since 1999 and have replaced their signature serif font with a new typeface called Product Sans. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Photograph by Justin Sullivan — Getty Images

Good news for conference callers: Google has made it easier to include people without Google accounts to participate in Google Hangouts.

Up till now you could include people who aren’t on Gmail by calling out to their phone, but now you can send an invite to that person at a non-Gmail mail address or use your Google (GOOG) Calendar to invite external (as well as internal) guests.

The recipient clicks on the link in the event description, enters her name and it’s off to the races. The event host can accept or deny their entry from Web, mobile or Chromebox clients, according to the Google For Work blog.

Google Hangouts competes with Microsoft (MSFT) Skype (or Skype for Business once known as Link Online) and LogMeIn’s (LOGM) join.me service.

The news comes just days after Google re-launched its flailing Google+ social networking site.

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