Zoom Against Google Hangouts: Comparing Video Conferencing Applications

Screenshot from Abrar Al-Heeti

Google Hangouts is a technology giant application for free calls, voice or video, and text messaging. You need a Google account to make calls, but you can use it without it. You can invite up to 150 people to Google Hangouts chat, although only 25 can participate in a video conference at the same time.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Google also offers many features that are typically designed for its Google Hangouts Meet business service to help people, businesses, and schools stay connected. Now you can hold meetings for up to 250 participants for one call and broadcast live video for 100,000 people in the domain, as well as record meetings and save them to Google Drive. You can use these tools for free until September 30th.

With speech-to-text conversion, Google Hangouts Meet lets you sign up in real time at meetings or in video chats – a great option for people with hearing problems or those who need to lower their volume.

You can use Google Hangouts through the iOS or Android application, over the Internet through a browser, Chrome extension, or in your Gmail account. To start a call, you need to open hangouts.google.com or in the sidebar of Gmail. Select a person from the list of video calls or find his name or email address and click on him. Click Video Call. In the application, open it and click the + button. Then enter the contact’s name or email address and tap the camera icon to start the video call.

Sarah Tew / CNET

The Zoom video conferencing application runs on Android, iOS, PC, and Mac. The application offers a free basic tariff plan with which you can make calls with up to 100 participants. It also offers options for small and medium-sized business groups (from 15 to 20 US dollars). monthly per host) and for large companies – at $ 20 per month per host and with at least 50 hosts. You can set up meeting times and select multiple hosts. Up to 1,000 people can participate in one Zoom video call, and up to 49 videos can be displayed on the screen simultaneously.

The application has HD audio and video capabilities, collaboration tools such as simultaneous screen sharing and commenting, as well as the ability to record meetings and generate transcripts. Outlook, Gmail, and iCal support scheduling and starting meetings. For example, in Gmail, you simply click on the calendar icon, then select the meeting time, and then the link in the Join the meeting section. If the host has programmed it, there may also be call parameters.

Also read: 13 tips and tricks to make the best use of Zoom

If your microphone and camera are turned off, Zoom has the ability to chat via chat (the interface looks like Slack). This feature can also be useful when asking questions in a mass meeting.

Signing up for Zoom is free: you can manually create an email account or log in via Google or Facebook.

If you use Zoom, it’s important to keep in mind the security issues that arose after its rapid growth in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic. Confidentiality experts have expressed concern about the risks and vulnerabilities of the software, in addition to the so-called zombie bombardment (when uninvited people break into a meeting to interrupt it). The New York City Department of Education recently told teachers to stop using Zoom and switch to Microsoft Teams while the company is addressing security issues.

However, if you continue to use the platform, you need to take some steps to protect your meetings, for example, an identification number for each meeting and enable the “Waiting room” function so that you can see who wants to enter the meeting before giving you access.