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Google Babble Unified Messaging May Launch as ‘Babel’

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We had previously reported that Google is working on a unified messaging and notification service called Babble, but the name may actually be spelled ‘Babel’ at launch. Babel, or Babble as it was previously rumored, would be a cross-platform unified messaging solution that will merge Google Talk, Google Voice, Google+ Messenger, and other messaging services into one unified experience. The service is rumored to be launching on iOS, Android, Chrome, Google+, and Gmail.

babble_geekdotcom1Here’s what Droid-life is saying that Babel will feature:

  • Access the same conversation list from anywhere
  • A new, conversation-based UI
  • Advanced group conversations
  • Ability to send pictures
  • Improved notifications across devices

So while initially, it was believed the service would be called Babble, which means talking foolishly or idly, the word also is close to the way Babel sounds. And Babel would make more sense. Rather than meaningless talk, Babel would indicate more connections with languages. Phone Arena writes:

This name would also make sense, because it is a word that means “a scene of noisy confusion”, as well as having the direct connection to the biblical Tower of Babel, which is the story of how God supposedly created all of the different languages in the world to confuse people so they couldn’t get together and build the tower to heaven. And, knowing Google’s geek nature, it would also connect to the babel fish, which was the universal translator from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Babelfish is also Yahoo’s online translator that has now come to power Bing Translate. If Google did choose this name for the product, we kind of wonder if that means Google is planning to merge Google Translate with the messaging to offer real-time translations in chat.

With Google I/O slated to kick off in mid-May, perhaps Google will announce Babel at that venue and we’ll learn more about how unified messaging will help to simplify our lives. And at this point, it’s still unclear if Babel will even be the final name of the product, or if it’s just a code name.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Arhur Rosenberg

    03/29/2013 at 12:16 pm

    Not surprised about the label “Babel” being applied to the convergence of both languages and modalities of communication. This will reinforce the role of all forms of messaging, along with the UC flexibility of switching modes contact and communication. In particular, this kind of flexibility will enable individual end users to choose how they want to initiate, be notified of a contact, and respond to a contact, across all forms of communication with both people and automated applications.

    The online business world is no longer just about person-to-person contacts, and most contacts with people will exploit asynchronous messaging, with options for real-time connectivity when necessary.

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